Key Takeaways Iranian Information Operation: Elements of the Iranian regime leaked information about purported plans to moderate regime behavior domestically and internationally. A former regime official close to Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani told an English-language diaspora outlet that Larijani is pushing to moderate regime policies and conduct …

The President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, called for an end to the escalation in Syria and a return to dialogue and previous agreements, stressing support for political efforts and strengthening Kurdish rights in a way that serves the unity and stability of the country. The President of …

Since the outbreak of the popular uprising in 2011, Syria has become an open arena for regional and international interventions. With a political solution stalled, the conflict-ridden land has become crowded with conflicting agendas. In this landscape, Turkish-backed factions have emerged as instruments of influence on the Syrian scene, ostensibly …

Death of International Law and Celebration “Power Policies” Question: Alexander Gelevich, let us turn to the turbulence of the turn of 2025-2026. We are witnessing a synchronous escalation: Venezuela, Greenland, Trump’s new rhetoric, instability around Iran. Why did this geopolitical “prodile” fall so hard? A.D.: We are present at the …

Hermeneutics of irony and erosion of cultural codes The phenomenology of humor is such that any attempt to explicate the anecdote – an explanation of where exactly should be laughed or what ironic trails were used – instantly kills the very essence of the funny, reducing the living fabric of …

The US might abandon its new interest in backing radical “security guarantees” for Ukraine due to worsening ties with Western Europe; increasingly Polish-led Central & Eastern Europe could replace Western Europe’s strategic importance for the US; and intra-EU rifts might accordingly widen. Trump announced that the US will impose 10% …

Death of International Law and Celebration “Power Policies” Question: Alexander Gelevich, let us turn to the turbulence of the turn of 2025-2026. We are witnessing a synchronous escalation: Venezuela, Greenland, Trump’s new rhetoric, instability around Iran. Why did this geopolitical “prodile” fall so hard? A.D.: We are present at the …

The Syrian army took control of the west of the Euphrates River, after controlling the city of Tabqa and the Euphrates Dam southwest of Raqqa, after several hours of clashes, at dawn on Sunday, January 18. Enab Baladi’s correspondent, who is accompanying the operations in the vicinity of the city …

Note: CTP-ISW has resumed publishing daily Iran Updates to cover the ongoing protests in Iran. CTP-ISW’s weekend updates will only include analysis on the protests, while our weekday updates will also include analysis on Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Key Takeaways The Iranian Regime’s Securitization: The regime’s plan to limit most …

Deir ez-Zor province, eastern Syria, is witnessing clashes between tribes and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the villages controlled by the latter in the eastern part of the Euphrates River. According to Enab Baladi correspondent in Deir ez-Zor, the tribes took control of the points of the “SDF” in …