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MECRA RESEARCH BLOG
The MECRA research blog is composed of short articles and may include outside contributions. The views expressed in these blogs and articles are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis editorial stance.
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Analysis: The threat of sleeper cells continues after ISIS territorial defeat in Syria
By WLADIMIR VAN WILGENBURG March 23, 2019* With the liberation of the last ISIS pocket in Baghouz (Baghuz) in the Deir Ezzor (Deir ar...
MECRA
Mar 23, 201911 min read
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IRGC: 'To Jerusalem' drone operation showcases technology and use of 50 drones simultaneously
On Thursday Iran's IRGC announced that it had launched a major drill dubbed Illa Beit al-Maqdis (الی بیت المقدس 1), a reference to the...
MECRA
Mar 14, 20192 min read
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Signs in Basra extol Shi'ite groups, fallen in the war on ISIS and Iranian leaders
A trip to Basra by Dave McAvoy reveals the extent of imagery lining roads showing different figures from Iraq's Shi'ite political parties...
MECRA
Mar 9, 20192 min read
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Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif resigns
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announced his resignation Monday. He was not present for an important meeting with Syrian regime...
MECRA
Feb 25, 20192 min read
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Iran officials predict greater influence in Iraq and US withdrawal from Middle East
“Today the best and closest friend [of Iran] are the rulers of Iraq,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Major General Qasem...
MECRA
Feb 23, 20194 min read
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Major attack targets IRGC in southeastern Iran
A bus bombing carried out by a suicide attack targeted a bus of Islamic Revolutionary Corp Guards traveling near the Pakistan border of...
MECRA
Feb 13, 20192 min read
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Spotlight on Jaish al-Adl: A Baluch militant group operating in Iran
Background on Sistan and Baluchestan Province Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran is the second largest province in the country,...
MECRA
Feb 13, 20194 min read
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Iranians are leaving at an alarming rate
A window into the lives of ordinary Iranians who are seeking to leave the country Pedram Safari, an Iranian musician from Bandar Abbas,...
MECRA
Feb 2, 20194 min read
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In Iran, a tortured labor activist challenges Intelligence Minister to TV debate
Following protests in recent months at the Haft Tapeh sugar cane factory in Shoush, Khuzestan Province, south east Iran, Esmail Bakhshi,...
MECRA
Jan 8, 20193 min read
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What are Iranians saying about the US decision to leave Syria?
The US decision to leave Syria, made by US President Donald Trump on December 19, has rocked the region and potentially provides Iran an...
MECRA
Dec 31, 20184 min read
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Increasing number of women activists detained in Iran
Growing number of women activists detained in Iran In recent months, there has been a growing number of detentions of female social...
MECRA
Dec 31, 20183 min read
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Rise of the Cyber Revolutionaries: The Case of Iran
By DAVID PATRIKARAKOS Ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power and established the...
MECRA
Dec 7, 20186 min read
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The attack in Iran's Chabahar: Who carried it out and why
Chabahar is a city on Iran's Makran Coast of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran. It is an important port city with the Shahid...
MECRA
Dec 7, 20183 min read
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Cyber Hezbollah
A report from Iran sheds light on a nationwide network of cyber operators used by the regime to crack down on dissent. The Basij in Iran...
MECRA
Nov 5, 20183 min read
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Who are the supporters and opponents of sanctions in Iran?
Who are the supporters and opponents of sanctions in Iraq? Sanctions advocates tend to come from opposition and nationalist groups, such...
MECRA
Nov 4, 20183 min read
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Inside the Iran regime's recent anti-Israel teachings, propaganda and slogans
During the pilgrimage of Arba'een Iranian regime members put out new statements claiming that the goal of the pilgrimage was to "unify...
MECRA
Oct 30, 20183 min read
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Iran arrests a journalist for not using the term "martyrdom," part of a wider social media crackdown
In a report published on October 20 in Ebtekar (ابتكار), the Persian-language reformist newspaper published in Tehran, entitled...
MECRA
Oct 26, 20182 min read
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Developing: Someone flew a drone over Iranian regime cleric's seminary in Ahvaz
Iran's Tasnim news reported that law enforcement in Ahvaz had to shoot down a drone after it flew over a seminary associated with a key...
MECRA
Oct 22, 20181 min read
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With the Kurds who are fighting the elite IRGC
By ZACH HUFF “You’re in Iran, now,” the grinning patrol leader nonchalantly informed me as we reached a summit of the Zagros mountain...
MECRA
Oct 7, 20188 min read
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With the Kurdish PDKI on the border with Iran: Exclusive new photos from Zach Huff
Zach Huff, a field researcher with MECRA, recently travelled to the border areas of northern Iraq and Iran with the Democratic Party of...
MECRA
Sep 1, 20182 min read
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