Iran’s leaders are trying to prevent the disarmament of their non-state allies in an effort to rebuild the national security strategy shattered by a year of Israeli and U.S. military operations.Seeking to avoid being drawn into regional wars provoked by Iran’s allies, governments in the region are striving to exercise …

In mid-August, Syria’s Druze minority crossed a historic threshold. In its southern province, demonstrators demanded self-determination for the first time, rejecting Damascus’s authority and waving Israeli flags – a stunning departure for a community long known for cautious neutrality. The shift came in the wake of July’s violence in Suweida, …

In a move that sparked international condemnation, a group of Israeli settlers crossed into Syrian territory near the village of Bariqa in Quneitra province on 18 August and attempted to establish a new settlement on Israeli military-controlled land. The incursion, three kilometres away from Alonei Habashan, an Israeli settlement located …