A recent surge in bomb attacks is unsettling major cities that had previously enjoyed a semblance of calm. But who is behind these attacks? Al Majalla lays out some theories.

In the wake of Iran's attack on Israel, the West wants to levy additional sanctions on Iran. However, over the years, their effect has been limited as Tehran found ways to circumvent them.

Its direct military action on Israel showed how the strategic calculus in a turbulent region has changed. Will the US try to use Iran's strike on Israel to hit back at Tehran and weaken it regionally?

The unprecedented Iranian retaliation was an attempt to reestablish its deterrence and remind the region of its capabilities, which were seemingly eroded over the years.

Iran's response to Israel's bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus failed to lay a finger on its foe but nevertheless gave Tehran its required counterpunch.

Without a stop to the fighting and unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian aid, Sudan's crisis will dramatically worsen in the months to come

Moscow remains determined to keep Washington in check wherever it can and to remind wider world powers of its ability to influence Iran

The change in focus toward staging riots to facilitate breakouts seems to be a response to IS's decreased ability to carry out large-scale operations

Israel's killing of aid workers in Gaza repulsed even its friends, but the Israeli targeting of senior Iranian commanders in a consulate in Damascus suggests that Gaza is not their only target.

A US-Saudi defence pact could have a transformative impact on the Middle East in the same way that a 1945 conversation between King Abdul Aziz and President Franklin Roosevelt did. It will not be easy

Its focus is on military operations, not how Gaza will be governed or how to leverage growing global support to advance the two-state solution

The militant group's leaders visit Iran then call for young Arabs everywhere to mobilise, yet those who line the streets in solidarity with the people of Gaza do not support violence.