Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Members of the crowd wave Iranian flags during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri.

3 IRGC members killed in twin attacks as Iran intensifies Kurdish crackdown

At least three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in separate armed attacks across Iran, including one in western Iran near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, where authorities have intensified their crackdown on Kurdish groups.

aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

Iraq’s new prime minister has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign ahead of key talks in Washington, but analysts say the real test will be whether it reaches Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed actors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Vance

Analysis

Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha

The US-Iran decision to launch direct talks between the IRGC and CENTCOM in Qatar deepens the rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while heightening Israeli fears that Washington is shifting toward Doha and Tehran.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

brahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

As US talks stall, Hezbollah chief defiant, says Israel to leave Lebanon ’humiliated'

The speech comes as the Lebanese-Israeli talks appeared to reach a deadlock this week amid Israel’s refusal to withdraw from Lebanese territory as long as Hezbollah remains armed.

Latest News

CENTCOM commander heads to Israel, Gulf as Lebanon talks stall

Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Navy Adm. Brad Cooper testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2026, in Washington.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, on June 9, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US drone strike kills two suspected al-Qaeda officials in Idlib

The strike is believed to have killed a former member of Huras al-Din's Shura Council and a security official.

Iraqi cleric pushes for elections, new social contract, in support of prime minister

Iraqi cleric Ammar al-Hakim, the head of Iraqioun parliamentary bloc and Hikma movement, is seeking to chart a nonsectarian alternative to the existing political structure.

Will Russia recruit Syrian Kurds to fight in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict?

While Russia will likely avoid direct involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, there are signs it could draw lessons from Libya and recruit fighters from Syria to do its bidding.

Baghdad, Erbil reach security, administrative agreement on Sinjar district

The deal will address major security and structural obstacles, but local communities criticize the accord for failing to bring their people to the table.

Assad accuses Turkey of instigating Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The hostilities have killed hundreds of people since late September.

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - OCTOBER 2: Journalists take pictures and video of a crater left by a bomb that fell outside a fire station on October 2, 2020 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. A decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reignited in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized by most countries as part of Azerbaijan, but controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 ceasefire. Dozens have been reported killed in the recent fighting, in which both countries blame the other

Did Erdogan approve Azerbaijan escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh?

The Turkish president is the author of a militarized regional policy that now stretches from the Caucuses to Libya.

Are Turkey's Salafi groups taking up arms?

Reports of increasing private armament among Turkey's Salafi groups have fueled concerns over social peace in Turkey where polarization is rife.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a briefing on coronavirus developments in Israel at his office in Jerusalem, on September 13, 2020. - Israel's government announced it would impose a three-week nationwide lockdown in an effort to stem one of the world's highest novel coronavirus infection rates after a surge in cases. (Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YOAV DUDKEVITCH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu and Nasrallah at a standoff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched another verbal confrontation against Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, but is unlikely to opt for a preemptive strike on Hezbollah missiles.

Rockets land in Erbil as US threatens embassy pullout

Iraqi Kurdistan’s counterterrorism service said the rockets were fired by paramilitary groups in Ninevah province in northern Iraq.

Members of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) forces militia disinfect a street in the western Washash district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on April 6, 2020, as part of measures against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Following US warning, Iraq steps up pressure on outlawed militias

A warning from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spurred Popular Mobilization Units factions to take actions against outlawed militias that are attacking foreign missions and troops.

A member of an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group helps a fellow protesters holding a placard denouncing the United States climb on the outer wall of the US embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone during an angry demonstration on December 31, 2019 to denounce weekend US air strikes that killed Iran-backed fighters in Iraq. Arabic graffiti reads: "Assaib Ahl al-Haq" -- a pro-Iran Iraqi Shiite group whose leaders were recently hit with US sanctions. - It was the first time in years protesters have been able to reach the

US shakes up Iraqi factions with reported warning on militias

The Trump administration has warned Iraqi President Barham Salih that it could close its US Embassy in Baghdad if the militias' attacks against its bases and convoys continue.

Employees display rifles for sale at a gun shop in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on September 22, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq cracks down on illegal arms flow to militias, armed groups

Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government has launched a campaign in southern provinces to get illegal arms out of the hands of militias and tribal groups.