Mehdi Jedinia

Mixed Media Coverage in Mideast on Soleimani's Death

Commander of Iran's elite Quds Force was killed along with several other Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leaders in US drone-launched missile that targeted his convoy in the Iraqi capital

A Look at Key Figures Killed With Qassem Soleimani in US Strike 

Iranian and Iraqi officials have so far confirmed US attack killed eight other people who were accompanying Soleimani at Iraqi’s Baghdad airport

What is Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard?

President Donald Trump last year labeled the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization

Iran's Iraqi Militia Proxy Kataeb Hezbollah Explained

a look at the history and facts of the Iranian-backed Iraqi group

Analysts: Seized Weapons Show Iran's Deep Involvement in Yemen's War

A UN resolution, adopted in 2015, bans the supply of weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen 

Iran Focusing on Minorities Following Protests, Experts Say

Days of anti-government protests in Iran have renewed debate over the status of minorities in the country, with some experts warning Iranian authorities are blaming minority groups for unrest in bid to justify further crackdowns on them

What Does the Recent Fighting in Gaza Mean for Iran?

Two days of intense fighting last week between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group highlights Iran's expansionist ambitions in the Middle East

Al-Qaida Gaining Strength as World's Focus Remains on IS

Experts say terror group has been seeking to establish more ties with local extremist groups, particularly in some parts of Africa and the Middle East

The Political History of the Kurds

Estimated at between 25 million and 35 million people, the Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, and while most are Sunni Muslims, there are also Christians, Jews, Yazidis and Zoroastrians among them

Blasts Injure 120 Civilians This Week in Eastern Afghanistan

Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, a stronghold of Islamic State's Khursan branch, was hit with more than a dozen bomb blasts recently, wounding more than 120 people, including 30 children. Among those children was Basharyar, who fled Afghanistan with his family years ago to neighboring Pakistan. . VOA's Zia Urahman Hasrat reports from Nangarhar.

Afghan Forces Attack IS Hideouts in Kabul

Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's intelligence agency, released a video showing its special forces attacking Islamic State sleeper cells in rural areas of Kabul on Wednesday.  The agency also says it arrested a key member of the terror group this week accused of coordinating suicide attacks and managing suicide bombers in the capital. 

IS Decentralizing Into 'Provinces' in Bid to Return

A series of announcements by Islamic State about the creation of ‘wilayats’ renews debate over the group’s possible resurgence after its self-proclaimed caliphate fell

US Sanctions 3 Hezbollah Officials, Including 2 Members of Lebanese Parliament   

Targeted Hezbollah officials are Amin Sherri, Muhammad Hasan Ra'd and Wafiq Safa. Sherri and Ra'd are members of the Lebanese parliament, while Safa is known to be a major Hezbollah facilitator

Soleimani: Mastermind of Iran’s Mideast Expansion 

Iranian Officials Deny Alleged Ties to al-Qaida

Among 470,000 files released by CIA is 19-page document written in Arabic detailing history of relationship between Iran, al-Qaida

Possible Return of IS Central Asian Fighters a Cause for Concern in Region

Moscow fears that fighters from countries in Central Asia may return home from Mideast battlegrounds and trigger instability in the region, which could pose security threat to Russia