Research & Commentary Results

“There are really big problems right now,” a conservative Islamist cleric close to Syria’s armed opposition told me – “al-Qaeda is trying to create a new loyal faction in Idlib, but that’s being prevented by al-Hayat.” As this influential cleric and four other similarly well-connected Islamist opposition figures have described to me in recent days, al-Qaeda’s central leadership is growing increasingly exasperated at its former Syrian affiliate – now named Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (H.T.S.), after a second rebrand in January 2017 – and is now actively seeking to build a rival movement more loyal

Just hours before the news of U.S. airstrikes in Syria broke out, Iran’s Fars News Agency (F.N.A.) reported that the Lebanese Hezbollah had dispatched 3,000 fighters near the border-crossing al-Tanf passageway along Syria’s borders with Iraq and Jordan to “thwart the U.S. plots” and take the control of the Palmyra-Baghdad road.

Latest reports about increased U.S.

A lengthy report in Fars News Agency (F.N.A.), an outlet close to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), claims that the United States is seeking to contain the growing influence of Iran and its proxies in Iraq and Syria by increasing its military presence in northern and southern Syria and keeping

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gerald Feierstein, Eran Etzion, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the resumption of Syria talks in Geneva, President Trump’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the latest developments in the home stretch of Iran’s presidential election.

The Lebanese Hezbollah has dispatched hundreds of its fighters in two main fronts in southern Syria near the border with Jordan, according to Fars News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).

The leader of a prominent Iran-supported Shiite militia group has said that his organization aims to establish a “Shiite full moon” not a “Shiite crescent.” In a

Akram al-Kaabi, the leader of Iran-supported Iraqi militia group Harakat al-Nujaba, sent a delegation to meet with the Syrian Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar.

Last week’s round of Astana talks was particularly important with the Syrian government, the opposition, and various regional patrons agreeing to Russia’s de-escalation plan of the conflict.

The initiative is a significant achievement, given that it comes after the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun and the U.S. strike in response, which heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Alex Vatanka, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Tillerson, Iranian President Rouhani’s battle for re-election, and the efforts to strike a deal for the future of the Libyan state.

April 27, 2017 – Raed Al Saleh, leader of the Syria Civil Defense (“The White Helmets”) joins host Paul Salem to discuss the situation on the ground in Syria, how the White Helmets are working to save civilian lives, and prospects for finding a path to peace.

Although Iran, Turkey and Russia have signed an agreement to create four de-escalation zones in Syria, the implementation of the plan will face major challenges, writes

Iran, Turkey and Russia have reached an agreement to create “de-escalation zones” in Syria, Iranian and Russian media reported.

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) Ground Force has said that he will continue to deploy “military advisers” to defend the government of Bashar al-Assad and the “resistance front” against Israel.  “A war has multiple dimensions. The most important one is the ground part.

Iran’s security forces threaten Afghans living in Iran to go to Syria to “fight for Syrian President Bashar al Assad or be deported to Afghanistan,” according to a report the Pakistani Dawn newspaper.