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Engaging with Afghanistan will get harder for West

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

This was a reference to criticism of Taliban rule by certain international players. While engagement between the emirate and the West remains limited, the Taliban are drawing…

Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds face a more peripheral future

Location:

IRAQ

Discussions on the future of the US-Iraq security relationship will be followed with intense interest by both Iran-backed Shia forces in Iraq and their increasingly sidelined…

Afghanistan’s marginalised groups face increasing woes

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban have increasingly fraught relations not only with Shia, most of whom are ethnic Hazaras, but also with other marginalised communities, including Salafis -- a small…

Islamic State poses limited threat in Afghanistan

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

Some observers have suggested that this is a sign of an IS-K resurgence. The ruling Taliban have tried hard since their takeover in 2021 to suppress the group, a long-standing…

New higher education policies will hurt Iranian women

Location:

IRAN

The prominent role of women during the large-scale Mahsa Amini protests of 2022, and the subsequent battle that has raged over the wearing of the hijab (female Islamic dress code…

Taliban-Shia tensions will rise in Afghanistan

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

In 2022, the community’s Ashura observances passed off relatively smoothly under Taliban protection. The Taliban said this year that restrictions were necessary to ensure security…

Afghan opposition will struggle to remain relevant

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

Meanwhile, long-standing opposition groups such as the National Resistance Front (NRF) and Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) have re-launched armed campaigns within Afghanistan.

Afghan Taliban will be flexible on foreign jihadists

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

However, at the end of the month, US President Joe Biden made comments suggesting that the Taliban are helping to drive al-Qaida out of Afghanistan. Moreover, the UN Assistance…

Choice of Supreme Leader will shape Iran’s future

Location:

IRAN

The sucession matters greatly for Iran's for direction. President Ibrahim Raisi and the Supreme Leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, are currently the most likely successors. The two…

EU will ignore Azerbaijan’s repression of minority

Location:

AZERBAIJAN

The arrests are connected with continuing tensions with Iran, stemming from an attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran in January. They have profound implications for Azerbaijani…