2. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-23

    IRGC officer in rare Iran assassination was active in Iraq, Syria

    According to some sources, Col. Hassan Sayyad-Khodai was deputy commander of the IRGC Quds Force's Unit 840, which operates in Syria.

  3. Human Rights

    2022-05-20

    Displaced Syrian children bear brunt of war's psychological, physical impact

    Driven out of their homes by Syrian regime and Russian bombing, some children have been in exile their entire lives, subsisting in makeshift camps dependent on international aid for survival.

  4. Security

    2022-05-20

    Ukraine debacle debunks myth of 'invincible' Russian weaponry

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly boasted about his country's new generation of 'invincible' weapons. The reality in Ukraine shows a very different story. 

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Results

Spotlight

Iran's proxies traffic drugs across the region to raise funds

Iran's proxies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have long used drug smuggling to fund their operations. The Houthis are now getting in on the game.

Iran's proxies traffic drugs across the region to raise funds
  1. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-19

    Tensions brew in Syria's Palmyra as IRGC cashes in on Russia's distraction

    Friction between Russian-backed 5th Corps and IRGC-aligned militias has been in evidence as Iran seeks to capitalize on Russia's distraction with the Ukraine war.

  2. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-19

    Yemen officials accuse Houthis of fabricating fuel crisis

    By creating fake shortages, the Houthis are making huge profits -- some say up to $360 million since April -- selling oil derivatives on the black market.

  3. Security

    2022-05-19

    Spider in the centre: Iran's web of drone manufacturing and regional chaos

    Like the strands of a spiderweb, threads of forensic evidence gleaned from drone attacks in the region all lead back to the Islamic Republic and its military.

  4. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-18

    Iranian crew in custody after $39 million drug haul seized from fishing vessel

    Crew tried to discard drugs before their vessel was interdicted along a route used to smuggle people, weapons, narcotics and charcoal.

  5. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-17

    Al-Assad's presidential pardons 'farcical', Syrians say

    It is no coincidence that the highly publicised 'general amnesty' decree came after a video of regime atrocities circulated online, activists say.

  6. Security

    2022-05-17

    $17 million in illegal drugs seized from vessel in Gulf of Oman

    Drug busts in regional waters and at air, land and sea ports and crossings regularly reveal the involvement of Iran and its proxies in the smuggling of illicit narcotics.

  1. Security

    2022-05-16

    Russian T-72 tank losses in Ukraine bode ill for Iran's tank force

    Iran's tank force is heavily reliant on variants of the Soviet-era T-72, making it less likely to fare well in a conventional battle. Russia's embarrassment in Ukraine is prime evidence.

  2. Security

    2022-05-16

    Help from China, Russia cannot save Iran from concentrated air strikes

    Iran's vulnerable air defence -- a hodgepodge of different systems that lack spare parts -- is incapable of stopping an adversary attack that employs long-range missiles and stealth fighters.

  3. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-13

    Rampant crime in Hizbullah's strongholds causes public angst

    Amid an unprecedented wave of theft and unsafe conditions in Beirut's southern suburb, some say that Hizbullah is providing cover for the perpetrators.

Most Viewed

  1. Proliferation of Iranian drones inside Iraq threatens Baghdad and region
  2. Lebanese Hizbullah: linchpin of Iran's drone programme
  3. Nurtured by Iran, Houthis' drone arsenal is 'most advanced' among its proxies

Most Commented

  1. Emergency food aid saves Lebanese citizens, refugees from starvation
  2. US praised for being single largest humanitarian donor in Lebanon
  3. Houthis destroy humanitarian aid meant to alleviate crisis in Yemen
  1. Refugees

    2022-05-13

    Islamic scholars deem Iran's treatment of Afghans 'un-Islamic, inhumane'

    Iranian authorities have been accused of torturing and beating Afghan refugees, in acts that many scholars see as a violation of sharia law.

  2. Terrorism

    2022-05-12

    5 Egyptian soldiers killed in 2nd Sinai attack

    Armed forces are continuing their crackdown on extremists after the latest attack, at a time when the international coalition is co-ordinating efforts to prevent an ISIS revival in MENA.

  3. Politics

    2022-05-12

    Split government in Yemen makes peace difficult but not impossible

    The Sanaa-Aden rift must be mended to restore unified governance and address Yemen's humanitarian crisis, Yemenis say.

  4. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-12

    Iran's proxies traffic drugs across the region to raise funds

    Iran's proxies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have long used drug smuggling to fund their operations. The Houthis are now getting in on the game.

  5. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-12

    Proliferation of Iranian drones inside Iraq threatens Baghdad and region

    The IRGC has been supplying its Iraqi militias with drones and drone-building technology that they have been using to carry out attacks -- both inside Iraq and across the border.

  6. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-11

    Khamenei lauds al-Assad as new war crimes come to light

    The Iranian leader praised Syria's president, who is under international sanctions for human rights violations, during a rare meeting in Tehran.

  7. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-11

    ISIS child recruitment network enablers slapped with US sanctions

    The sanctions aim to 'expose and disrupt' an international network that financed ISIS recruitment, including of children in Syria.

  8. Human Rights

    2022-05-11

    Donors pledge $6.7 billion for Syria under shadow of Ukraine war

    Russia, a supporter of the Syrian regime and targeted by the West for its invasion of Ukraine, was not invited to the conference. This year's pledge outstripped the $5.6 billion raised last year.

  9. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-10

    Hizbullah commandeers aid meant for Lebanese public

    Hizbullah has been funneling aid intended for the Lebanese public to its own base and supporters in an attempt to quell their growing discontent.

  10. Analysis

    2022-05-10

    IRGC promotes, rewards most radical elements

    Over the past four decades, the IRGC has increased its emphasis on ideological training, giving it equal weight with military training and rewarding those most committed to Wilayat al-Faqih.

  11. Terrorism

    2022-05-09

    Egypt mourns 11 soldiers killed in ISIS Sinai attack, vows to continue fight

    Egypt's president vowed to uproot terrorism completely following the first major attack of its kind in 2022, with the heaviest loss of life in years.

  12. Human Rights

    2022-05-09

    Houthis' pledge to phase out child soldiers met with scepticism

    The Houthis have agreed to stop recruiting children for their war effort and to release child soldiers, but it remains to be seen if this plan will translate into action.

  13. Crime & Justice

    2022-05-06

    Growing protests in Iran are met with regime's mainstay tactic: repression

    Teachers, factory workers and environmentalists calling for positive change in the country are increasingly being intimidated, arrested and beaten by the security forces.

  14. Security

    2022-05-06

    Torture, rape and executions: Russian mercenary tactics around the world

    The evidence is undeniable -- wherever Russian mercenaries are deployed around the world, atrocities and horror follow.

  15. Economy

    2022-05-05

    Iran, Russia face another consequence of pariah status: no spare parts

    The consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and of Iran's missile programme and funding of regional proxies have forced both regimes to scramble for basic car and airplane parts.