Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), have been killed in US airstrikes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Iran is pursuing a variety of methods in an effort to preserve its influence in Iraq and Lebanon in the face of protests against existing power structures.

The United States said on December 29 that it had bombed five targets in Iraq and Syria controlled by an Iraqi Shi’a paramilitary group with suspected ties to Iran’s elite Quds Force.

Following deadly U.S. airstrikes on five locations in Iraq and Syria belonging to the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah (commonly referred to as the Hezbollah Brigades, or KH), the Shia jihadist militia has threatened more attacks on U.S. troops in the region.

Protesters have stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to condemn recent U.S. air strikes that killed at least 25 members of an Iran-backed militant group, causing Iraqi security forces and compound guards to fire tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has announced that the United States is sending additional troops to Baghdad to provide security for the American embassy there following an attack by protesters.

Lebanese capital sees some of worst violence in months of demonstrations as security forces respond to fighting between rival groups. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas while clashing with anti-government protesters and with men who tried to attack the protest camp in Beirut on Saturday, …

Hezbollah’s “political wing” operates in Germany by raising funds, recruiting new members and spreading antisemitic and jihadi ideologies. In a new initiative, the Bundestag political factions of four parties on Friday urged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration to ban Hezbollah’s activities.

“We have the right to question any vessels entering the Straits of Hormuz and Iranian territorial waters,” naval commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said.

As key players grapple with domestic issues, Syrian war has been left in temporary stalemate, experts tell Doha Forum.