Iran

In the past few days, social media has been flooded with unsubstantiated reports alleging that the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced 15,000 protesters to death in the wake of street protests and violent riots sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. The misleading allegations largely stem from a 6 November …

Following Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in the Second Karabakh War in late 2020, Iran has doubled down on its long-standing diplomatic provocations, economic warfare, and threats of military aggression against Azerbaijan. The qualitative increase in its support for Armenia against Azerbaijan manifests in each of these areas.

Lethal force was used against mourners at funerals, women were tear-gassed at a crowded subway station, and more than two months of unrest in Iran appeared far from fizzling out. Nearly 30 people were killed in less than 48 hours as Iranian cities witnessed a flare-up of anti-government protests, which …

French President Emmanuel Macron admitted this week that amid ongoing protests in Iran and the mass detention of demonstrators, it would be very difficult for the West to make progress on talks for a new nuclear deal. The French leadership is finding it harder and harder to separate the talks …

By strengthening alternative transit corridors, Moscow hopes to counter tightening Western economic sanctions and transit restrictions adopted in response to Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine. One of the most important prospects for Russia in this regard is to strengthen shipping and transit cooperation with Iran in the Caspian Sea. To …

Tehran vows to continue targeting Iraq’s Kurdistan region until the Iranian Kurdish opposition leave the area permanently. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has close links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced today that the attacks on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan will continue until these groups …

Iranian shops are closing up in waves amid the continuing nationwide protests. Iran was hit with widespread business strikes on Thursday in support of anti-government protests that were entering a third month.   Over the past week, and despite severe internet disruptions and rigorous controls, campaigners have urged civil disobedience on the anniversary …

The meeting this week between two Eurasian security bosses is a further step toward dusting away the west’s oversized Asian footprint. Two guys are hanging out in a cozy room in Tehran with a tantalizing new map of the world in the background. Nothing to see here? On the contrary. …

Since Russia’s military strategy shifted to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, Iran-manufactured unmanned aerial vehicles (UVAs) have been key to war effort. Gaining pace in October, Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 models have been used to target civilian buildings and have damaged about a third of the country’s power plants. For months, Tehran …

Russia once viewed the G-20 group of leading economies as the world’s key cooperative forum. No longer. The November 15-16 meeting in Bali will not be attended by Vladimir Putin and there is therefore little chance that his isolation will be illustrated through face-to-face condemnations from Western leaders.  That’s not to say that Russia …