Ibtihel Bouchoucha

Hossein Moez-Gholami, an active member of Iran’s Basij Force, was killed in the Syrian governorate of Hama on March 24, the Iranian

Over the past six years, Iran has played a key role in propping up the embattled regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, by sending Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) military personnel as well as recruiting, funding, training and leading an extensive network of Iraqi, Lebanese, Pakistani and Afghan Shiite militia forces.

The Appeals Court in Tehran has upheld a five-year jail term for Christian convert Ebrahim Firoozi for his alleged missionary activities in Iran, the Center for Human Right

A common theme among many postcolonial countries in the Middle East is the difficulty of placing various religious and ethnic groups under the same state’s flag. Libya is different, as its people are overwhelmingly Sunni Arab. Nevertheless, tribal politics have instilled serious divisions in the country. The friction coalesces around two of the three primary regions of Libya, Cyrenaica in the east and Tripolitania in the west (the third historic province of Libya, Fezzan, is to the south of Tripolitania and tends to align its views with its northern neighbor).

The full article can be found at the Arabia Foundation

India’s interests and capabilities extend well beyond the sub-continent. This essay is part of a series that explores the geopolitical dimensions, economic ties, transnational networks, and other aspects of India’s links with the Middle East (West Asia) — a region that plays a vital role in India’s economy and its future. More ...

A prominent Iran-backed Iraqi militia commander has warned peshmerga forces loyal to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to withdraw from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar and stressed that the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) will not allow any parts of Nineveh Province to be incorporated into the Iraqi

Iran has announced that it will allow Russia to use Iranian bases “on a case by case basis” to launch air strikes against “terrorists” in Syria.

Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of hardline Kayhan newspaper, claims that an assessment of speeches by U.S. politicians at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) this week shows America and its allies are afraid of the Islamic Republic’s power.

Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeqh Larijani has criticized the U.N. Human Rights Council for renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran for another year. “Unfortunately, the United Nations’ human rights bodies have become a tool to pressure independent states,” Larijani said in a meeting with high-ranking judiciary officials in Tehran.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Yousef Munayyer, Eran Etzion, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the evident partisan divide at this year’s AIPAC Conference, the surprise that the Trump administration’s lack of support for settlement building has caused for Israel’s right wing, and Iranian President Rouhani’s trip to Moscow.

Read the full article at The Cipher Brief

Iran on Sunday blacklisted 15 American companies in retaliation for new sanctions by the Trump administration targeting the Iranian missile program.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said on Sunday that it has dismantled an Iran-backed group that planned terrorist attacks in the island kingdom, including assassination of high-profile government officials.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry is refusing necessary medical treatment to Jamaloddin Khanjani, an 83-year-old former community leader of the Baha’i minority who has spent more than nine years in an Iranian jail.