The Iranian regime is seeking to take advantage of political and economic developments in Syria and Iraq to improve the Iranian economy and advance its strategic goals in the region.
The regime may use economic and political initiatives with the Assad Regime to pay for and increase the Axis of Resistance's influence in the region.
Iran may respond to renewed Israeli airstrikes on Iranian and Iranian-backed forces in Syria by causing Iranian-backed militias to attack US forces ostensibly in retaliation.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister for Political Affairs and Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani met with his Irish counterpart, Sonia Hyland, in Tehran on May 4.
IRGC Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani met with prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani on May 4 to present a report on the Quds Force's regional activities.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with senior Palestinian militia officials in Damascus on May 4, likely to emphasize their increasing integration into the Axis of Resistance.
Eye of Euphrates reported on May 4 that over 200 local recruits for Iranian-backed militias abandoned their posts in Mayadeen, Deir ez Zor Province. [28] Eye of Euphrates claimed that the militants vacated their headquarters facilities in Mayadeen and outposts facing out into the Central Syrian Desert for fear of US-led international coalition airstrikes.[29] US-led international coalition airstrikes typically do not target these outposts. CTP has previously reported that ISIS militants have conducted attacks on these outposts, however.[30] The militants may have alternatively abandoned their positions for fear of ISIS attacks.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-may-4-2023
Iran’s IRGC Quds Force is trying to forge a defense pact, drawing together Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) - all of which have been funded by Iran for years - to coordinate rocket launches against Israel, regional sources told @thetimes
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https://twitter.com/IranIntl_En/status/1654234155754848256
Iran Update, May 5, 2023
Attacks on Iranian clerics increased during the past month, which may reflect broader public antipathy to the regime’s sociocultural and economic policies.
At least one protest occurred on May 5.
The Iranian regime has increased the pace of state executions, which could reinvigorate anti-regime sentiments in Sistan and Baluchistan Province
Iranian leadership is signaling greater cohesion among Palestinian resistance factions, likely to support their integration into the Axis of Resistance.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani may replace Popular Mobilization Authority Chairman Faleh al Fayyadh according to Iranian-backed Telegram channel Sabreen.
IRGC Quds Force Commander of Eastern Syria Hajj Mahdi and IRGC Quds Force Commander of the Albu Kamal rail crossing Hajj Hussein met with a Russian delegation in Albu Kamal City on May 3.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-may-5-2023