Coastal Insurgency: Some Syrian General Security Service (GSS) units are improving their counter-insurgency approach in rural minority areas by relying on relationships with locals. GSS officers who arrested an IRGC-affiliated Assadist cell in Tartous said that local tip-off and local community support were critical to the dismantlement of the cell and to stability in the surrounding area.
Sino-Syrian Relations: Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Asaad al Shaibani met with PRC Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi for the first time in Beijing on November 17. The PRC’s highlighting of security issues during the meeting indicates that PRC policy toward the new Syrian government will be shaped primarily by counterterror and security concerns.
Iraqi Government Formation: At least some Shia Coordination Framework parties may be imposing conditions for the next prime minister that seek to constrain or restrict the actions of the next Iraqi prime minister after Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani’s increased independence from the framework during his term. The framework may seek to exclude prime minister candidates like Sudani due to fears that the candidates will act against the framework’s interests.
Iran Update, November 21, 2025 (Institute for the Study of War)
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