Iran

Tehran would be wise not to bank on Moscow coming to its defence

The US might threaten Iran with Israeli strikes in order to get it to come to the table, but Trump prefers a deal with Tehran

Despite the fall of its long-time ally in Syria, Russia isn't retreating; it is adjusting—leveraging military assets and transactional diplomacy to pursue its strategic interests across the region

Tehran must choose between reaching a diplomatic resolution that stops its nuclear proliferation or risk a military attack that destroys the programme and possibly ends the regime

Iran and its proxies have been devastated, but the Trump administration still has much to consider in its policy toward Tehran

The 'strategic partnership' signing could have been timed to send a message, but a deeper examination reveals it to be a pragmatic alliance borne of a shared enemy rather than shared interests

While financial obligations outlive regimes, Damascus may be able to show that some of the $7.6bn in loans from Tehran was spent repressing the Syrian people—and that Iran knew about it

The incoming US president might very well reach a deal with Tehran, but it will likely be a bumpy road until then

Key regional powers—Türkiye, Egypt, Iran—do not see eye to eye over what transpired in Syria. One emerges as a winner, the other a loser, and Syria's new Islamist-leaning leaders unsettle the third.