Category World News

Video shows Israel carrying out back-to-back strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Hatta after issuing an evacuation warning, saying it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. The UN says Israeli forces have committed over 10,000 air and ground violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon since November 2024.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has alleged that nationwide protests “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for United States President Donald Trump to intervene militarily in the country.

Araghchi told foreign diplomats in Tehran on Monday that the violence spiked over the weekend, but the “situation is now under total control”.

He said Trump’s warning of military action against Tehran should ‌protests turn ‌bloody motivated “terrorists” ⁠to target protesters and security forces ‌to invite foreign intervention. “We are ready for war but also for dialogue,” he added.

Araghchi also said Iran has footage of weapons being distributed to protesters, adding authorities will soon release confessions of detainees, and that authorities are “closely following” the ongoing events on the streets.

The demonstrations were “stoked and fuelled” by foreign elements, he said, noting security forces would “hunt down” those responsible.

Iran’s spiralling protests have now entered a third week amid a nationwide internet blackout and repeated military intervention threats from Trump.

Iran’s government has declared three days of national mourning for the “martyrs” killed during the protests, including members of security forces.

The semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that 109 security personnel have been killed in the protests.

Authorities have not confirmed the number of demonstrators who have lost their lives, but opposition activists based outside the country say the death toll is higher and includes hundreds of protesters.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify either figure.

Initially prompted by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into nationwide protests and a serious challenge to the government in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The Fars news agency reported that limited protest gatherings took place in several neighbourhoods of the capital on Sunday night.

There were limited “riots” in Navvab and Saadat Abad neighbourhoods of Tehran, Junqan and Hafshejan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, and Taybad of Mashhad, which were intervened and dissolved by security forces, according to Fars.

The agency reported that the other cities and regions in the country were generally calm without “riots” overnight.

On Monday morning, Iranian media showed reported footage of pro-government rallies on its Telegram channels from various cities.

‘National internet blackout’

A nationwide internet blackout has entered its fourth day in the country, according to reports, a move widely criticised by human rights organisations.

Connectivity watchdog NetBlocks reported the internet across Iran is still down, describing the situation as a “national internet blackout”.

It has now been 84 hours since the country last had consistent connectivity. NetBlocks noted, however, some Iranians have developed methods to bypass the restrictions.

There have been fewer videos showing protests on social media recently due to the internet shutdown.

The United Kingdom-based Amnesty International slammed the practice on Friday as a way of hiding “violations in escalating deadly crackdown on protesters”.

Addressing the internet blackout, Araghchi said it would soon be restored, and added that the government was coordinating with the security establishment to make progress on that. He said the connection would be restored to embassies and government ministries, too.

Iran’s leadership wants to show the situation in the country is under control and that is why the internet will be turned back on, Mehran Kamrava, an Iran analyst at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

Araghchi “doesn’t want to lose face”, he added, “but what we’re seeing is a multi-pronged approach” by Iran to end the turmoil.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said that the remarks by Araghchi “are the part of the same rhetoric that we have been hearing from different Iranian political figures”.

“Basically, there are three components we have to keep in mind when it comes to this particular discourse,” he said.

Asadi stressed that Iranian officials have been expressing that they recognise people’s “right to take part in peaceful protests” due to the economic difficulties they are facing.

He said the country is also witnessing an “unrest flaring up into violence” that has been going on since Thursday, resulting in fatalities, injuries, and arrests, and reminded the reported unconfirmed death toll of Iranian security officers.

Our correspondent said the third component that made the situation “even more complicated” was “rising security concerns related to foreign intervention”.

‘We’re looking at some very strong options’

As protests persist, defying a crackdown, Trump said on Sunday the US is considering “strong options” in response to the situation in Iran, including possible military intervention.

“We’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination,” he told reporters on board Air Force One, adding that Iran’s leadership had called “to negotiate” after his threats of military action, and that a “meeting is being set up”.

Earlier on Sunday, parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the US against “a miscalculation”.

“Let us be clear, in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iran faced a 12-day war with Israel and the US last year after Israel attacked in June, when Washington also bombed the country’s nuclear sites.

The war killed hundreds of civilians, military commanders and scientists, and Tehran responded with hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, killing 28.

Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed economic plans in an interview on Sunday.

Pezeshkian ⁠said ​‍the US and Israel ⁠want to “sow chaos and disorder” ​in his country by ordering “riots” and called ‌upon citizens ‌to ⁠distance themselves from “rioters and ‌terrorists”, according to the state media.

President Donald Trump said the US is considering “very strong options,” including possible military action, over the deaths of protesters during unrest in Iran. Nationwide protests over economic hardship have been met with mass arrests and a security crackdown.

For decades, Reza Pahlavi was the polite face of the Iranian opposition in exile – a former fighter pilot who spoke of nonviolent resistance and secular democracy from his home in the United States.

But this weekend, the tone of the 65-year-old heir to the Peacock Throne and son of Iran’s last shah changed dramatically.

In a direct challenge to the Iranian government, Pahlavi called on Iranians to “seize city centres” and prepare for his imminent return, prompting what Iranian state media described as “armed terrorist attacks” across the country.

“Our goal is no longer merely to come into the streets,” Pahlavi declared in a statement released on his X account. “The goal is to prepare to seize city centres and hold them.”

From heir to exile

Born in Tehran on October 31, 1960, Pahlavi was officially named crown prince at the age of seven. His path seemed destined for the throne until the 1979 revolution upended the region.

At 17, he left Iran for fighter pilot training in the US at Reese Air Force Base in Texas. While he was away, the monarchy collapsed, and the current political system was established, barring his return.

Pahlavi completed his training and later earned a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, he famously volunteered to serve as a fighter pilot for his country but was rejected by the authorities in Tehran.

He has lived in exile ever since, residing in the US with his wife, Yasmine Pahlavi, and their three daughters.

‘Preparing to return’

For more than 40 years, Pahlavi advocated for a referendum and nonviolent change. However, his rhetoric has sharpened significantly in recent days.

On Saturday, he urged workers in key sectors — transport, oil, and gas — to launch nationwide strikes to “cut off the financial lifelines” of the state. He specifically called on the “youth of the Immortal Guard” — the erstwhile imperial forces — and security forces to defect.

“I, too, am preparing to return to the homeland so that at the time of our national revolution’s victory, I can be beside you,” he stated.

His call to action comes amid reports of the largest antigovernment protests in years. Pahlavi asked supporters to hoist the pre-1979 “Lion and Sun” flag, a symbol of his father’s rule, and to occupy public spaces starting from 6pm local time (14:30 GMT).

‘Terrorist’ accusations

The response from Tehran has been furious. On Sunday, state-affiliated media outlets labelled the protests as a “new phase of insecurity” and an “internal armed war”.

A report by the conservative Vatan-e Emrooz newspaper, cited by the Tasnim news agency, described Pahlavi’s call as cover for “terrorist nuclei” to attack police and Basij forces.

“Do not be mistaken; this is not merely a riot … these were armed terrorist attacks,” the report stated, claiming that dozens of security personnel had been killed.

Officials have linked Pahlavi’s escalation to foreign interference, specifically accusing the US and Israel. They claimed the unrest is a “Plan B” by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the conclusion of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in May last year.

‘Opposition against the opposition’?

While Pahlavi has found renewed popularity on the streets, he faces sharp criticism from within the fractured Iranian opposition.

Alireza Nader, an Iran expert, argued in a recent article that Pahlavi’s political activities have become divisive. Critics accuse his circle of attacking other prominent dissidents, such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, labelling them “leftists” or “terrorists”.

“Pahlavi has doubled down on his advisors despite others’ unease about them,” Nader wrote, questioning whether the prince has become “the opposition against the opposition”.

There are also concerns about manipulation. Nader noted that Pahlavi’s online support is partly driven by cyber-armies linked to the Iranian government, designed to sow discord, raising questions about “who is co-opting whom”.

Despite these internal rifts, Pahlavi remains the most visible figurehead for the current wave of unrest. With the Trump administration maintaining a hands-off approach — asserting it is “up to Iranians to choose their own leaders” — and the streets of Tehran burning, the exiled prince appears to be making his final gamble for the throne he lost 47 years ago.

When Syria’s civil conflict ended in December 2024 with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, hundreds of thousands of citizens were still bearing arms. Throughout the nearly 14 years of war, armed factions proliferated: from the broad spectrum of armed opposition factions in the northwest and the regime’s array of military and militia forces in central and western Syria, to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and a complex network of militias throughout the south, and not to forget the likes of ISIS and al-Qaeda.

In this context, the task of demilitarising society and reunifying the country has posed a truly formidable challenge for Syria’s transitional authority. Indeed, the process of disarming, demobilising, and reintegrating armed groups while simultaneously establishing new armed forces and a reformed security sector stands at the core of Syria’s transitional state building project. Days of heavy conflict between government forces and the SDF in Aleppo this past week highlighted the consequences of a failure to resolve the integration challenge.

As a first step in December 2024, the al-Assad regime’s armed forces were swiftly dissolved and a process of status settlement was initiated, whereby all previous soldiers – both officers and conscripts – could register using their national ID and apply for release to civilian life or to re-enlist in the new army.

Thousands of men chose to undertake this settlement process across the country, to clear their names and start life anew. But thousands of others abstained, especially in the coastal region, where the Alawite minority dominates. While many of those who avoided the process melted back into rural communities, hundreds ended up forming anti-government factions that conducted low-level attacks on government forces, culminating in a huge coordinated campaign on March 6 that killed more than 100 government personnel – triggering a chaotic and brutal week of violence that left more than 1,000 people dead.

In the months since, several thousand former regime personnel have undergone training and joined Syria’s new security forces across the country. Nevertheless, the fighting persists, due in part to financial support from prominent al-Assad regime figures now in exile in neighbouring Lebanon, as well as in Russia.

That continues to undermine Syria’s ability to heal ties with Lebanon and Russia, but also complicates the geopolitical standing of such countries among the wider region, which has stood squarely behind the new government in Damascus in the hope of transforming Syria into a base of stability and prosperity.

Meanwhile, Syria’s transitional government is also seeking to rebuild the Ministry of Defence (MOD) with an army, navy and air force and the Ministry of Interior (MOI) with provincial public security directorates, and dedicated “counterterrorism”, counternarcotics and cyber forces.

In this transitional phase, the MOD has emerged as the umbrella under which the broad spectrum of opposition armed factions have been folded. While all former opposition groups have technically dissolved, some remain largely in form, constituting the army’s nearly 20 divisions. Those factions with longstanding ties to Turkiye – particularly from the northern Aleppo-based Syrian National Army (SNA) – appear to have benefitted from greater levels of military support and arms supplies than others previously based in Idlib. Some have leaders with controversial pasts, including outstanding international sanctions designations for violent crimes and corruption.

In the earlier phases of Syria’s transition, the MOD was the force tasked with responding to security challenges and with securing territory through checkpoints and local deployments. This was not an effective “post-war” approach to security, and the ministry’s serious shortcomings in terms of discipline, cohesion and command and control gave way to grievous errors of judgement and restraint – most notoriously on the coast in March 2025, but also in Suwayda in July, when MOD forces intervened in bloody clashes between local Druze and Bedouin communities.

Through the second half of 2025, the MOD took a back seat when it came to domestic security and was replaced by the MOI, whose public security forces have assumed responsibility for local security across the country.

Unlike the MOD’s divisions, the MOI’s forces are dominated by newly recruited men from across the country. While the MOI’s specialist units remain dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) personnel, the relative lack of previous factional affiliations in the broader public security forces has led to significant improvements in some of the most challenging environments.

In fact, Syria’s coastal region has transformed from being the most consistently dangerous and deadly region of the country in the first half of 2025 to the most stable and least violent region at the end of the year – even with a low-level rebellion continuing. That is almost entirely due to the MOI’s assumption of security responsibility, and a months-long effort to engage and build trust with local communities.

The most strategically significant challenge Syria’s transition faces today is from its unresolved territorial issues in the northeast with the Kurdish-dominated SDF and in the southern Druze-majority governorate of Suwayda. In both regions, armed groups are presenting themselves as alternatives to Damascus’s rule – and both are resulting in persistent tensions and conflict.

While the United States government has worked intensively to facilitate and mediate talks to achieve the SDF’s integration into Syria, those negotiations have yet to bear fruit. With multiple deadlines for such a deal now passed, tensions have been sky-high for weeks.

An SDF drone attack on a checkpoint manned by government forces in eastern rural Aleppo late on January 5 triggered a spiral of hostilities that ended in the expulsion of SDF-linked militia from northwestern districts of Aleppo city by January 10. This latest bout of fighting has dealt a blow to integration talks, but also highlighted the consequences of their failure. The very real prospect of hostilities now spreading to front lines in eastern Aleppo could kill the talks altogether.

In Suwayda, a tense standoff remains after the violence in July that killed more than 1,400 people. Druze militias have united under a “National Guard” that is receiving support from Israel. The dominant role played by former al-Assad regime officers within this formation’s leadership has driven a more than 400 percent rise in drug trafficking towards Jordan, according to data collected by the Syria Weekly media outlet – triggering Jordanian air strikes in late December.

Persistent reports of inter-factional violence within the National Guard and increasing numbers of extrajudicial attacks on Druze figures willing to criticise Suwayda’s new de facto authorities suggest the status quo does not offer stability.

It is in Suwayda where geopolitics have proven to be most acute – with Israel’s backing of Druze authorities presenting a direct challenge not just to Syria’s transition, but to Jordanian security, to regional support for Damascus, and to the desire of US President Donald Trump’s administration to see Syria’s new government assume nationwide control.

The de facto Druze leader in Suwayda, Hikmat al-Hijri, is also in regular contact with SDF leaders in northeast Syria, with both sides appearing at times to be coordinating their positions vis-a-vis Damascus. Alawite figures on the coast, meanwhile, including protest leader Ghazal Ghazal, have also been in communication with both the SDF and al-Hijri in an attempt to unite behind a political vision that stands in opposition to Damascus.

Ultimately, Syria’s process of resolving the challenges of armed factions is intrinsically political and tied both to the civil war and to the tensions and challenges that have emerged out of the transition itself. The fact that a vast majority of the international community has united in support of Syria’s transitional government has helped to provide the time and space for dissolving and integrating armed factions and fighters across the country. However, as long as geopolitical challenges to the transition remain, the process of integration will remain incomplete and continue to be a source of instability.