An attack on an airport, bombings in the mountains, and Iran's threat of a ground invasion have led the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to tread carefully between its neighbours. Al Majalla explains.
As a deadline on a security deal over Iranian Kurds in Iraq looms, Tehran is eyeing military action if camps are not disarmed and moved. That could provoke an international response, including the US.
There is a cultural war being waged by foreign powers to alter the culture and character of the Syrian Arab state. Al Majalla dives deep into the issue with a series of investigative reports.
Syria's whopping 830 foreign military bases represent the largest number of foreign military bases in its history. Al Majalla maps out the breakdown of regional and global presence there.
Fears grow that much of Iran will be uninhabitable in 40 years as it diverts rivers to feed nuclear plans, worsening a long drought and risking social unrest, at the behest of the military elite
Secret documents obtained by Al Majalla reveal that Saddam tried to form a four-way coalition with Jordan, Yemen and Egypt while reaching out to Iran through Arafat.
The high level of unemployment has become a national talking point in Iran, while claimed statistics offered by the government are no longer trusted by citizens.
There is a long-standing nationwide sense of helplessness, stoked by government inaction over a series of crises. It shows up in various ways, from spending patterns to a rise in homelessness.
A longstanding dispute between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on the one hand, and Iran on the other, has been rehashed after Iran states its intention to start drilling in the Durra gas field
Any disruption in the Hormuz has cascading knock-on effects that extend far beyond energy markets, impacting international trade. Al Majalla explores all this and more.
The current conflict is unlikely to go global for now, but the speed at which it has spread regionally is alarming. A look at history shows the geopolitical factors that led to world wars.