Middle East

“You are the national military of Iran, not the military of the Islamic Republic. You have a duty to protect the lives of your compatriots," Pahlavi wrote.

“I saw what we call a ‘mass casualty’ situation in medicine. That is when your potential and facilities to provide services are less than the population of patients,” said an Iranian doctor.

"The United States and Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth,” said the Iranian Ambassador.

Five days of fighting last week left at least 23 people dead, according to Syria's health ministry, and saw more than 150,000 flee the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city.

Iran is currently seeing its biggest anti-government demonstrations in years as the administration of President Donald Trump weighs how to respond.

Iran's layered security architecture, anchored by the Revolutionary Guards and Basij paramilitary force, makes external coercion without internal rupture exceedingly difficult.

Per the WSJ, Iran's rival Gulf states have largely avoided addressing the protests that have spread across Iran since late December, leaving thousands dead.

The two met over the weekend to discuss the anti-regime protests that continue to rage across Iran, according to a senior US official.

In some ways, it seemed like Trump was experimenting with how much he could impact the world after abducting the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, without taking any concrete further action.

The most enduring outcome of not attacking would not simply be the failure of this uprising. It would be the longer-term damage: a confirmation that external backing is largely performative.