Iran

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Iran's dominant force militarily, politically, and economically, but there is growing pressure for its armed wing to merge with the Iranian armed forces

As a costly war draws to a close, Tehran has the chance to chart a new course in relation to its neighbours, but that requires a change of mindset

Saudi Arabia's steadfast position on Palestine challenges efforts to reduce resistance to a single political camp

In March there was talk of armed Kurdish fighters opening a second front in Iran's north-west, but it never happened—for several very good reasons.

Beijing can help Washington find a way out of its Gulf quagmire, but it won't come cheap. Xi Jinping may wonder aloud if the Americans still plan to defend Taiwan.

Even when appeals to open the Hormuz Strait come from a close ally like Beijing, they fall on deaf ears in Tehran. But hope is not yet lost.

The IRGC doesn't just defend the state, it runs it. To wave the white flag wouldn't just mean giving up its arms; it would mean dismantling the organisation and its patronage networks.

Rising oil prices will boost the Kremlin's coffers as costs over Ukraine mount, but a total defeat of Iran could lead to the deployment of radar stations in the north, near Russia's border

From military spending to energy markets, the US-Israeli war on Iran is driving rising costs, with the Strait of Hormuz emerging as a central pressure point

Instead of taking down the Islamic Republic, what the assassinations have done is harden public support and accelerate the regime's militarisation