As regional tensions escalate between Washington and Tehran, Iraq finds itself once again at the heart of the storm, with growing activity from armed militias and volunteer groups ostensibly “defending Iran” amidst a complex political and security landscape. Just one day after the first round of US-Iranian negotiations in Muscat, which concluded without any clear results beyond an agreement to ...

Recent atrocities in the Syrian coastal region of the provinces of Latakia and Tartous shook the world, when civilians in huge numbers were killed by armed groups connected to the de facto Syrian government. Local witnesses and media reported that killings occurred without discrimination, but the Alawi, a current inside Islam, were targeted mostly, spurring fears of sectarian conflict inside ...