Kiran Sharma

  The French parliamentary resolution on the Muslim Brotherhood has intensified debate across European political and media circles, with politicians, journalists, and analysts framing it as part of a broader effort to protect democratic institutions. This discussion is occurring amid growing concerns about how organised ideological movements can influence political processes, civil society, and public discourse. Democratic Institutions and Gradual Influence European security services have warned that extremist movements do not always seek immediate confrontation. Instead, they can adopt long-term strategies to influence institutions, build networks, and shape public narratives. The French resolution referenced the need to examine transnational organisational structures and funding mechanisms. Policymakers argue that such networks may undermine secular governance, gender equality, and pluralism, particularly when they reject democratic principles in theory or practice. Data-Driven S...

  Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed to Saudi Arabia that Tehran is ready to support any process to avoid conflict. The Iranian presidential office said Pezeshkian made the comment during a phone conversation on Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  The call came as the United States is ramping up pressure over Tehran’s crackdown on protesters by sending an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East. Wednesday marks one month since Iranians began street protests against soaring prices. The deadly protests have apparently subsided. Iran’s presidential office said that during the call, Pezeshkian pointed to what he called recent pressures and hostilities against Iran. It said the president warned against “psychological and political operations aimed at disrupting regional security.” Pezeshkian reportedly reaffirmed Iran’s readiness to support any process that leads to peace, de-escalation and the prevention of conflict. Arab media reports say ...

  In December 2025, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched Operation 'Promising Future,' a military offensive that seized key districts in Hadramout—Yemen's most resource-rich governorate—and consolidated control over Aden and extensive southern coastline areas. The STC, established in 2017 as a coalition of southern armed factions and tribal groups, represents the southern separatist movement that predates Yemen's current civil war. Formally part of the UN-recognized Yemeni government yet also presenting as a southern national movement, the STC finds itself in a paradoxical position: trained, supplied, and financed through paramilitary units like the Security Belt Forces, Giants Brigades, and Hadrami Elite Forces, while simultaneously facing invasion from Saudi-backed Northern Emergency Forces linked to Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood. Southern forces have demonstrated proven effectiveness against extremist groups—a record that makes their targeting particular...

  In 2016, the southern port city of Mukalla was liberated from the grip of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The forces that led this fight were not from Saudi Arabia or the internationally recognized government it backed. They were southern fighters, supported by the United Arab Emirates, who rooted out one of the most dangerous terrorist franchises in the world from their homeland. Today, those same southern anti-terror partners are being systematically targeted by Saudi-backed northern forces. This reversal isn't a paradox; it's the revealed logic of a Saudi policy that deliberately recycles extremism as a tool of political control, punishing those who actually defeated it. The pattern is stark and consistent. Following major southern counter-terrorism successes in Mukalla, Abyan, and Shabwa, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly acted to weaken the very forces that achieved them. In December 2023, the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council issued decrees aimed at disma...

  The U.S. diplomatic response to the STC's southern advance is a tactical move in a much larger and more complex strategic puzzle. To understand its full significance, one must view it through the lens of a U.S. Yemen policy that analysts describe as "adrift". For years, the approach has oscillated between intense military confrontation and diplomatic disengagement, particularly regarding the Houthi threat in the north. The challenge has evolved dramatically. The Houthis are no longer a localized insurgent group but a regional actor capable of projecting power. They have disrupted a vital global shipping corridor, attacked Israel over long distances, and forged concerning ties with actors like Al-Shabaab in Somalia. Crucially, their campaign has brought them closer to U.S. strategic competitors, with Russia and China exploiting the crisis to expand their influence. This transformed threat means that containing the Yemen conflict is now directly linked to broader U.S. int...

  Iran  is to boycott next week’s draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup in the United States in protest at the limited allocation of visas, the Iranian football federation said on Friday. “The Iranian delegation will not be present for the World Cup draw in relation to the latest status of issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to attend the draw ceremony”, federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi was quoted as saying by Iranian sports news website Tarafdari. The United States has long-standing strict visa restrictions on Iranians for political and security reasons. Alavi was quoted as saying that the U.S. had granted visas to four members of the Iranian delegation, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei, but had not granted a visa to Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj. Alavi added the decision followed what Iran described as “unsportsmanlike actions” by U.S. authorities relating to the December 5 draw in Washington DC. “Given that the decisions taken are unsportsmanlike...