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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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Who is Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, Iraq's possible next Prime Minister
Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi may be Iraq's next Prime Minister. His selection by President Barham Salih comes just over two months since Prime...
MECRA
Feb 1, 20205 min read
Iran's responses to 'Deal of the Century'
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN During Friday prayers on January 31 Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani condemned US President Donald Trump's "Deal of the...
MECRA
Feb 1, 20208 min read
Analysis: Will Turkey's increased role in Libya reduce or inflame conflict?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Greece’s foreign minister flew to Abu Dhabi, Libya, Egypt and Cyprus in the wake of Turkey threatening to send...
MECRA
Jan 25, 20204 min read
Who is Iran's new deputy IRGC Quds Force commander: Mohammad Hejazi
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN and MECRA STAFF Iran has appointed a new deputy commander for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force in...
MECRA
Jan 21, 20204 min read
An interview with a senior officer of a special unit of Hashd al Shaabi (PMU)
This interview was conducted on January 3 in Baghdad, Iraq in the wake of the US srike that killed Qasim Solaimani and Abu Mahdi...
MECRA
Jan 6, 20208 min read
Reactions in Iran to the death of Qasem Soleimani: The regime and the opposition
The following has been translated from Farsi from an article looking at reactions within Iran to the US airstrike on Qasem Soleimani....
MECRA
Jan 5, 20204 min read
Analysis: Implications of the Soleimani killing
By ALEX GRINBERG The liquidation of the Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani is an achievement for the US, yet it is not a game changer....
MECRA
Jan 5, 20205 min read
Developing Story: Sources and related to Turkey's new role in the Mediterranean, sending of Syrians
In late November Turkey signed a deal with the Government of the National Accord in Libya. The GNA controls parts of Libya near Tripoli,...
MECRA
Dec 29, 20194 min read
What is known about rocket attack that killed a US contractor and wounded several US forces in Iraq
On Friday a salvo of rockets struck the K-1military base northwest of Kirkuk. It is the most significant of more than a dozen similar...
MECRA
Dec 28, 20197 min read
An attack in Somalia kills up to 90 people, including several Turkish nationals
A source from Somalia wrote the following MECRA this morning; "These are pictures were taken from the terror attack scene or place....
MECRA
Dec 28, 20191 min read
An interview with a member of the pro-Iran Khorasani militia, captured by protestors in Baghdad
The following interview was conducted with a member of the Khorasani militia, a pro-Iranian militia in Iraq, which forms part of the...
MECRA
Dec 27, 20193 min read
A defector from the Badr Organization in Iraq details its operations and his story
Through an interview we obtained exclusive information about the Badr Organization from an insider who played a role in one of its...
MECRA
Dec 11, 20195 min read
Who is Qais al-Khazali, the Iraqi militia leader sanctioned by the US on December 6?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Qais al-Khazali (قيس الخزعلي) was targeted by US sanctions on December 6, 2019. "The U.S. Department of the...
MECRA
Dec 7, 20197 min read
Badr Organization, its role in the PMU: Background and sources
In the interests of creating an easily accessible list of sources related to the Badr Organization and its role in the Popular...
MECRA
Dec 4, 20192 min read
Keeping ISIS defeated in Syria and Iraq, an interview with Coalition spokesman Caggins
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On November 17 I spoke to Col. Myles B. Caggins III, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the 81-member...
MECRA
Dec 4, 20198 min read
A "massacre" in Nasiriyah in Iraq as Iraqi protests reach two month turning point
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Two months of protest have reached what could be a turning point or crescendo as large movements of Iraqi forces...
MECRA
Nov 29, 201911 min read
Photo essay: Iraq's two months of protests: Inside the everyday life of the protesters' camp
Photos and text by ADAM LUCENTE Youth, gaming culture and humor flourish in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square protests BAGHDAD, Iraq – The posters...
MECRA
Nov 26, 20193 min read
Inside Iran's crackdown on a week of protests
With the disruption of internet, it has become very difficult to get information about what is going on in Iran at the present time....
MECRA
Nov 24, 20193 min read
Timeline of Israel-Iran tensions in Syria and the region
Growing tensions between Israel and Iran, particularly in Syria, have led to rocket fire from Syria directed at Israel and numerous...
MECRA
Nov 19, 201916 min read
Increasing evidence of Iran's role in crackdown on protests in Iraq
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Iraq's month-long protests have led to more than 200 deaths, mostly of protesters killed by Iraqi Security Forces...
MECRA
Oct 30, 20196 min read
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