Iran

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down Flight PS752 only a little more than two years ago, killing all the passengers and staff. There were 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents of Canada on the flight.

Within the space of a few months, Iranian proxies and allies in Iraq and Lebanon suffered significant setbacks in parliamentary elections. Some commentators have ventured that the era of Tehran’s hegemony may be over. While it is hard to predict the final outcome of these electoral shifts, such hopes might be premature.

A look at the history of Iran-Russia relations demonstrates the same pattern of Russian regimes exploiting Iranian resources. Most evidently, tsarist Russia obstructed the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906–07, and the Soviet Union attempted to create a satellite state in the Azerbaijan province of Iran.

The Negev Summit puts a question mark on Iran’s plan to use its navy for anti-access, area-denial (A2/AD) warfare against its adversaries.

On March 29 right outside Imam Reza Stadium, the Islamic regime pepper-sprayed women who bought game tickets to watch the World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Lebanon. Such stirringly poignant treatment of women in Iran is not unprecedented.

The “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” (CSP) signed between Iran and China will have profound domestic, regional, and international implications. The more immediate effect of the partnership will be a further decline in human rights and freedom in Iran.

In recent days, the Iranian regime brutally cracked down on protests in Esfahan province against growing water shortages. Some observers argue that the origins of the water crisis in Iran are climate change and a drastic drop in precipitation. However, the reasons for the crisis go deeper.

What is emerging is a return of three ancient regional power centers, would-be Persian and Turkish hegemons wishing to once more dominate in the domain of their past empires. In the middle is an Arab and Jewish coalition, anxious not to fall prey to their old masters.

Among the voluminous commentary on the Taliban’s return to power, only a few observed its apparent desire to emulate the Islamic Republic of Iran.