Alex Vatanka

Forty days into a hugely costly war that neither side had fully intended to fight, but both had in some way or another long prepared for, the guns…

The latest twist in Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's long career says a great deal about the man and the system that made him. When reports surfaced this…

Leadership decapitation has long appealed to outside powers as a shortcut to regime collapse. Remove the figure at the top, the theory goes, and an…

Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as Iran’s new Supreme Leader marks the most consequential political transition in the Islamic Republic in more than…

Iran entered the current conflict in a structurally weakened position. Years of sanctions had battered the economy, and its once formidable network…

Following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli military strikes on 28 February 2026, a three-member…

[caption id="attachment_55248847" align="alignnone" width="620"] Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah (L) and Iranian Foreign…

[caption id="attachment_55249290" align="alignnone" width="620"] Iranian soldiers participate in military manoeuvres at Sistan-Baluchestan province,…

[caption id="attachment_55249770" align="alignnone" width="620"] A combination of file pictures shows Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L…

[caption id="attachment_55250056" align="alignnone" width="618"] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a press conference at the Conference on…