Iranian leaders are exchanging a wide range of visits with regional leaders to break Tehran out of its isolation. Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s visit to Iran represents his attempt to consolidate outside support amid Russia’s distraction with its war against Ukraine. Gulf state leaders are pressing Tehran to compromise …

A French judicial investigation found that Lafarge Cement Syria, a subsidiary of Lafarge, paid as much as 13 million euros to a range of armed groups operating in Syria, including Islamic State. Numerous former high-ranking executives, including two former chief executives, were indicted on charges of financing terrorism in 2018. …

Leaders in Tajikistan are wrestling with increasingly complex threats posed by the Taliban regime and cross border attacks by Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K) fighters. The hostile relationship with the Taliban is a function, in part, of Tajikistan’s longstanding support for Afghan Tajiks and other opponents of the Taliban regime. …