Iran Update Special Report, July 15, 2026

Key Takeaways

The United States has continued to strike Iranian military targets, including some targets further inland. Iranian regime media reported on July 15 that US forces struck the Artesh Ground Forces 388th Mechanized Assault Brigade barracks in Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchistan Province. This strike is notable given that the 388th Brigade is located around 200 kilometers from the Iranian coast, while most US airstrikes in July have been concentrated around Iran’s southern coast. The Artesh has conducted operations throughout the war and most recently claimed on July 15 that it conducted drone strikes targeting US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Azraq, Jordan.

Iraqi media reported on July 15 that an unknown actor launched six drones targeting Erbil International Airport and the US Consulate in Erbil, Erbil Province. It is unclear whether Iran or Iranian-backed Iraqi militias conducted this attack.

Iran is attacking vessels that have adopted alternative mechanisms to bypass Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran attacked three vessels in the strait on July 13, two of which were doing “shuttle runs,” or repeated short trips to ports outside the strait in order to transport oil through the strait while avoiding Iranian territorial waters.

Iran’s attacks on shipping are having some success in deterring shipping companies from using routes outside Iran’s illegal traffic separation scheme, which advances Iran’s objective of securing control over the strait. Seven maritime security and shipping industry sources told Reuters on July 15 that shipping companies are avoiding using the southern route despite US military escorts, highlighting how shipping companies’ willingness to use alternative routes in the strait is dependent on their risk calculations.

Yemeni Writer: Houthi Escalation Due To Saudi Policy

Amid the military escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in recent days,[1] Yemeni journalist Hani Salem Mashour published an article in the London-based Emirati daily Al-Arab in which he held Saudi Arabia responsible for the situation. He argued that Riyadh’s conciliatory policy toward the Houthis over the past two decades enabled them to grow stronger and deepen their ties with Iran. As a result, they became a major military force that can now threaten international shipping, strike deep inside Saudi Arabia, and even confront the U.S. directly. Mashour added that the Houthis are now a reality and can no longer be defeated through military means alone. Therefore, efforts should focus on containing their expansion beyond Yemen’s borders and weakening their ties to Iran—similar to the strategy currently being pursued against Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) militias in Iraq.

Le Liban se couche – Netanyahou et Trump à l’heure des représailles iraniennes

Téhéran ferme le détroit d’Ormuz à coups de missiles en réponse à l’ultimatum américain… et le commandement de l’armée libanaise coupe les lignes de communication avec la Résistance.

L’ultimatum américain de 24 heures exigeant une déclaration iranienne garantissant la liberté de navigation s’est effondré. Washington a reçu sa réponse sous forme d’une frappe directe qui a touché un navire commercial, suivie d’une annonce officielle du nouveau commandant de la marine des Gardiens de la révolution islamique (CGRI) fermant le détroit d’Ormuz jusqu’à nouvel ordre. Cet épisode maritime coïncide avec un message écrit décisif de Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, ordonnant une riposte existentielle irréversible, ainsi que l’exposition de l’échec des systèmes de défense américains en Jordanie. Sur la scène libanaise, les autorités politiques et militaires prennent des mesures sans précédent pour isoler la Résistance en interne, en alignement avec les désirs américains et israéliens tandis que l’armée d’occupation poursuit sa politique de terre brûlée dans le sud du Liban.

Turkey Arrests Islamic State Member Active in Syria

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known as MIT, said on Monday, July 13, that it had carried out an operation resulting in the arrest of Talib Guler, also known as “Abd al-Salam al-Turki.” Guler had been active within the Islamic State’s so-called Turkey Province.

Turkish broadcaster TRT reported that Guler entered Syrian territory illegally in January 2014. He continued his activities within the organization in coordination with several of its leaders, most notably his brother, Qasim Guler.

TRT said Turkish intelligence continuously monitored his movements until it arrested him in a carefully planned operation outside Turkey and transferred him to the country.

The Turkish broadcaster said Guler admitted during questioning to details about the stages of his radicalization in Turkey, his move to Syria, and his decision to join the Islamic State. He also described activities he carried out within the organization in cooperation with his brother.

TRT said Turkish intelligence had previously arrested Qasim Guler, who served as the Islamic State official responsible for its Turkey Province and oversaw financial affairs in the so-called al-Farouk Office. He was arrested in a similar operation in 2021 and transferred to Turkey.
Joint Syrian and Turkish Operation

Turkish state media announced on May 23 that ten Turkish nationals suspected of belonging to the Islamic State had been detained inside Syrian territory. The arrests took place during a joint operation by Turkish and Syrian intelligence agencies, which Ankara said followed close monitoring of the suspects’ movements and activities.

According to Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu Agency, the detainees were listed under Interpol Red Notices. They were suspected of involvement in military, security, and media activities linked to the Islamic State, while some were also allegedly connected to attacks carried out in Turkey in previous years.

Turkish security sources said the operation was coordinated by the Turkish and Syrian intelligence agencies after a period of surveillance and monitoring. The suspects were then arrested and transferred to Turkey for further questioning.

Information reported by Turkish media at the time indicated that all the detainees were Turkish nationals who had joined the Islamic State in Syria between 2014 and 2017. They participated in various activities within the organization, including combat, intelligence work, media propaganda, and logistical support.

According to the Turkish account, some of the detainees continued operating in small cells linked to the Islamic State after the organization lost the territories it had controlled in Syria. Others worked in logistics, administration, and media propaganda.

The Turkish operations are part of continuing security and intelligence campaigns conducted by Ankara against the Islamic State. These campaigns have resulted in the arrest or detention of hundreds of suspects and the dismantling of networks involved in financing and propaganda for the organization.

Follow the money

Hassan Akkad’s arrest and Syria’s new red lines

The arrest of prominent British-Syrian journalist Hassan Akkad sparked public outcry and a broader debate about the limits of free speech in Syria’s emerging political order. His subsequent release shows that public pressure still carries weight in today’s Syria. But the broader debate over the limits of free expression – that Western democracies, too, continue to wrestle with – has only just begun.

The Arab World in Two Hundred Years: A Search for Identity

Part One: Napoleon’s Cannons and the Awakening of the Arab World

When Napoleon’s cannons began bombarding Alexandria in 1798, Europe the region geographically closest to the Arab world had already undergone profound transformations. The great voyages of discovery had redrawn the map of the world, steam power was beginning to replace the sails of ships, and remarkable advances had been made in artillery and firearms. At the same time, Europe had entered an intellectual renaissance that propelled it toward rationalism, scientific inquiry, and modern political thought.

‘The Paradigm is Shifting’: Anti-Zionist Jewish Congress Calls for a New Political Future

The Second Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress (JAZIC) was held in Dublin from June 25 to 28, 2026.
JAZIC is a growing international initiative that seeks to connect anti-Zionist organizations, academics, civil society actors, and individuals from diverse backgrounds committed to analyzing, debating, organizing, and taking collective action in support of the Palestinian struggle, both in Palestine and across the world.

Le démon de Nietzsche dans l’éducation nazie et sioniste

Lawrence Davidson sur l’application pratique de la notion nietzschéenne d’éternel retour dans les processus éducatifs pervertis nazis et sionistes.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) était un philosophe allemand brillant, quoique singulier, qui parvint à rester productif et relativement sain d’esprit jusqu’à la seconde moitié des années 1880. Son œuvre prônait généralement le rejet du conformisme religieux et social et promouvait un individualisme héroïque.

Kurdish Rebel Groups Are Wary of Tehran’s Next Move

Following its deal with the United States, Iran may act against Iraq-based dissidents.

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a massive, coordinated military operation against Iran. During the subsequent war, Iran carried out hundreds of drone and missile strikes on exiled Iranian Kurdish militant groups in Iraqi Kurdistan, killing at least ten of their members. On June 17, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end hostilities.