By Isaac Kfir, The Strategist (ASPI): “Iraq is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in May. At least 28 Iraqi political parties associated with paramilitaries that fought Islamic State (IS) have registered to run candidates. Many of these parties, like their ‘parent’ militias, have close ties to Tehran.”
(Reuters) Iran has increased its missile production three-fold, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander said Wednesday, according to the Fars news service.
- “The resilience of Iran’s political institutions since the Islamic revolution has caused many Western observers to dismiss the recent unrest in Iran as inconsequential because the protests lacked leadership, were scattered and there was no political endgame in sight.”
- “What they miss is that the regime’s foundation is beginning to exhibit severe stress lines that the Iranian leadership is finding increasingly difficult to hide from its people, while the Iranian people appear to be losing their fear of the regime.”
- “Also, the regime seems to be failing in one of its most proud accomplishments since its 1979 founding: the building of a welfare state that promised to address the basic needs of its people.”
Iran is building and testing short- to medium-range missiles armed with chemical warheads in Syria, former Syrian general Zuhair al-Saqit told [The Jerusalem Post's sister publication] Maariv. - Jerusalem Post