Iran

In two recent television interviews on, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council – the body of senior officials appointed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei[1] – called for establishing an Islamic army to control security in the Middle East after U.S. forces withdraw from the region. Rezaei, …

The sailors aboard the USS Carney, based in the Red Sea, had a busy weekend — one that could have just as easily turned deadly were it not for the professionalism demonstrated on the ship. On Sunday, the Yemen-based Houthi group launched four attacks on international vessels transiting the waterway. …

With the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas crossing the 55-day mark, no breakthrough seems to be in sight that could bring hostilities to a stop despite the successful exchange of some hostages. As Palestinians in Gaza continue to face the brunt of Israeli military reaction to the terror …

Latest Developments The presidents of Russia and Iran praised their countries’ bilateral relationship during a meeting in Moscow on December 7. “Our relations are developing very well,” said Russia’s Vladimir Putin to Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi. “Please convey my best wishes to leader Khamenei,” referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali …

Top officials from Iran and Saudi Arabia weighed plans for regional cooperation between the two Muslim heavyweights at a meeting in Riyadh. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud held talks on the sidelines of a joint meeting of the Organization of …

Clashes in Eastern Syria curiously coincided with the claims of an impending American military operation Iyad al-Jaafari writes in Syria TV. The Iranian response to the ongoing protests in As-Suweida, which could potentially spread across Syria, stands in contrast to their actions during the early stages of the 2011 revolution. …

It is evident that the Iranian axis is not willing to sacrifice the Syrian regime to protect the Hamas movement, according to Ibrahim Rayhan in Syria TV. Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon were featured prominently in Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s speech last Friday, but the Syrian regime was notably absent. …

Last Friday, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced that they have reached an agreement to reestablish diplomatic ties and reopen their respective embassies in two months’ time. The agreement, which was mediated by China and announced at a signing ceremony in Beijing, comes after a seven-year diplomatic rift that began in …

Quiet mediation efforts between Egypt and Iran have been going on for months, seeking to end one of the Middle East’s longest-running but often-neglected feuds. In May, credible media reports indicated that Egyptian-Iranian talks had been taking place in Baghdad since March. Later that month, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq …

As risks of further escalation begin to mount, frantic diplomatic efforts are currently underway to prevent the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza from spiraling into a wider regional conflict. But while global leaders and publics remain transfixed by this unfolding tragedy, other trends in the region whose long-term impact could prove …