Staff writer, SF

Iranian-backed Hezbollah made a ceasefire deal with the so-called Islamic State, last week, to transfer over 300 ISIS fighters and their families from southwestern Syria on the Lebanese border to the Deir ez-Zor Province in the east on the Iraqi border.

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, went on TV to defend his militia’s actions, even though ISIS could have been defeated. He said that this was the only way for Hezbollah to achieve closure over the troops they had lost to ISIS, as part of the deal required ISIS to give them the locations of the graves.

Staff writer, SF

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are very a very powerful force, perhaps equal to or greater than even the executive branch. The IRGC only answer to the Supreme Leader. So the beliefs of the IRGC commanders and recruits are important.

by Azita Carlson

Earlier this week, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said to journalists in London that Iran’s talk about a potential rapprochement with the kingdom is “laughable”. He said that before this would even be considered, it would be imperative for Iran to completely change its policies.