Hezbollah Cannot Survive Without Iran’s Support, Lebanese Analyst Says
By Ahmad Rafat
Tens of thousands of Lebanese marched in the streets of their capital city Beirut earlier this month to protest against the prevailing economic crisis, high unemployment, and widespread corruption in the country....
Iran Barred from International Financial System After Blacklisting by FATF
By Ahmad Rafat
On February 21, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisted Iran for failing to enact the Palermo Convention, the Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) acts.
The decision came...
ANALYSIS: How Iran Has Turned Itself Into a Pariah State
By Ahmad Rafat
Every action taken by the Islamic Republic in the past year has secured the regime’s status as a pariah state. These include scaling back its commitments to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan...
Inside Iraq, the Iranian Government Pulls All the Strings, Journalist Tells Kayhan Life
By Ahmad Rafat
Anti-government protests that began on October 1 in the central and southern provinces of Iraq have turned more violent in recent days. There have been fierce clashes between rioters and security forces...
Bahrain Maritime Security Conference Focuses on Iran’s Activities in Persian Gulf
By Ahmad Rafat
A two-day summit on maritime security in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormoz and the Sea of Oman, attended by senior diplomats from 63 countries, ended on October 22 in Manama,...
ANALYSIS: New EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell Is Sympathetic to Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Josep Borrell -- the current foreign minister of Spain, and soon-to-be High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy -- has, in the past, described Iran as a...
ANALYSIS: Europe Distances Itself from Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Germany, Britain, and France have warned that they will withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, if Tehran were to continue to...
Shah’s First Wife, Princess Fawzia of Egypt, Is Remembered in Cairo Exhibition
By Ahmad Rafat
Fawzia Fuad (1921–2013) was an Egyptian princess who became the first wife of the late Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1939 when she was only 17 years old. The marriage, officially ended...
ANALYSIS: Iraq Is the New Battleground for Iran and Israel
By Ahmad Rafat
Israel has opened a new front in its war against Iran. After Lebanon and Syria, the conflict between the two countries has now spread to Iraq.
There have been a series of...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Militia Networks in the Middle East and Africa
By Ahmad Rafat
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has given the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) one month to either integrate the Iraqi military or lay down its arms and become a political organization.
The PMF, also...
