The Iraqi government is looking to gain control of Iranian-aligned armed groups that operate inside of Iraq but outside state control, in yet another sign of Iran's weakened position since October 7.

Nicole Grajewski is a Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an Associate with the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is the author of Russia and Iran: Partners in Defiance From Syria to Ukraine.

The collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria was truly a turning point for Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East. For over a decade, the Assad regime benefited from longtime allies Russia and Iran, who both committed to propping up the totalitarian police state in exchange for gaining footholds in the region.

Syria is expected to join the Iranian-led “resistance front” soon, a member of the Expediency Council said on Wednesday, despite the ousting of key Tehran ally Bashar al-Assad.

Iran and Russia signed a 20-year strategic partnership treaty. It outlines significant economic and military cooperation.

But they warn that, if that fails, Iran is on a collision course with the west. European powers that opposed Trump’s maximum pressure during his first term have become more angry with Iran’s behaviour, including the continued expansion of its nuclear activity, its arms sales to Russia and its alleged targeting of citizens in the west.

TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi highlighted Iran's principled policy of supporting Syria's national sovereignty and territorial integrity during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, on Thursday.

Iranians and Israelis have been banned from flying to Syria, which is under new leadership since last month's overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, an airport source said.International flights resumed at Syria's main airport in Damascus on January 7,

Iran holds tremendous sway inside Iraq despite the presence of US troops, setting up a tug-of-war for the incoming Trump administration.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian for the signing of a broad partnership pact

Iraq will not be negatively affected by the weakening of Iran's influence in the Middle East, Iraq's deputy parliament speaker said, with Baghdad looking to chart its own diplomatic path in the region and limit the power of armed groups.

Prior to the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, both Moscow and Tehran had their own respective strategic partnerships with Damascus. Russia’s partnership was anchored to the naval base in ...