Tajikistan has increased pressure on influential figures in Gorno-Badakhshan, a volatile region that the central government has trouble exerting full control over. Three prominent natives were recently charged with inciting ethnic hatred in a move that sparked anger and suspicion among locals.
Downplaying or even whitewashing Iran’s domestic violence provides the ayatollahs with a robust tailwind, and the war against Islamic terrorism with a strong headwind.
An offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, the Druze have long punched above their weight in Lebanon's sectarian politics. Jumblatt compared Lebanon today under Iranian influence with the 1990s when the country was dominated by neighbouring Syria, led at the time by the late President Hafez al-Assad.