Oil prices surged on Friday and were on track for a third straight week of gains as traders focused on potential supply disruptions from more sanctions on Russia and Iran. Brent crude futures gained $1.

Behrouz Esbati said he partially blamed Russia for the fall of Assad's government, in a rare break from Iran's official line on Syria.

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Last year was one to forget for Iran as the country’s clerical establishment suffered a series of setbacks at home and abroad. Analysts say without major shifts in policy, the new year will only worsen matters for a vulnerable Iran.

Iran is reeling from a cratering economy and stinging military setbacks across its sphere of influence in the Middle East. Its bad times are likely to get worse once President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House with his policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran.

For weeks, Iranian officials have downplayed the fall of their ally in Syria. But an important general has offered a remarkably candid view of the blow to Iran, and its military’s prospects.

The Shahed-136 is particularly vexing for nations on the receiving end of its attacks. The drone poses significant defensive challenges, as both the Houthis out of Yemen and the Russians fighting in Ukraine have shown.

Like any newly elected American President, Donald Trump must all too soon address international affairs that have been much ignored in the election.

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is embroiled in war and plagued by systemic decay — and Donald Trump can exploit its weakness to end its campaign of global instability.

Under the proposed “comprehensive strategic partnership” between Moscow and Tehran, we are likely to see the Iran-Russia relationship strengthen over time, not just on a conventional level but in terms of Moscow’s support for Iran’s proxy forces.

Inside the secret operations of Iranian company Sahara Thunder, revealed and visually reconstructed from more than 10,000 leaked emails.

Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” was first imposed after he scrapped the Obama-negotiated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) also known as the Iran deal.