Day: December 29, 2025

Mali advance to last 16 after dull 0-0 draw with Comoros reut.rs/48YGspz reut.rs/48YGspz

— Reuters (@Reuters) Dec 30, 2025

Read the full update:  isw.pub/IranUpdate122925

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Dec 30, 2025

NEW: Small-scale protests demanding that the Iranian government address the devaluation of the Iranian rial and high inflation rates have continued for the second consecutive day in Tehran and Hamadan City, western Iran, on December 29 amid a rapid collapse of the Iranian currency.

Other Key Takeaways:

Current economic-related protests come as the Iranian regime is deliberating on Iran’s 2026/27 Budget, which is set to increase taxes to relieve Iran’s budget deficit as state oil revenue decreases, but will put additional economic pressure on the Iranian people.

Unspecified anti-government Alawite fighters took advantage of civilian protests over legitimate Alawite grievances to attack government security forces in coastal Syria on December 28. The unspecified attackers may have been Alawite insurgents who deliberately sought to trigger an aggressive government retaliation. Assadist-style slogans at the protests and the attacks themselves suggest nascent support for Alawite insurgent groups and fertile grounds for recruitment.

The Syrian government and Syrian Democratic Forces may soon announce a formal military integration agreement, but the two sides retain their core disagreements over decentralization and will continue to debate this issue in the coming months.

The new Iraqi Parliament elected Progress Party parliamentarian Haibat al Halbousi as parliament speaker on December 29. Haibat al Halbousi is the cousin of former Parliament Speaker and Progress Party head Mohammad al Halbousi, which indicates that Mohammad al Halbousi likely negotiated a deal with Iranian-backed Iraqi actors to support Haibat’s election. Iranian-backed Iraqi actors will likely use Parliament’s election of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia-linked deputy parliament speaker to further their control of the Iraqi Parliament.

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Dec 30, 2025

M Justin Haak departs NYCFC to join LA Galaxy reut.rs/4jgqomp reut.rs/4jgqomp

— Reuters (@Reuters) Dec 30, 2025

Prepare for more tariffs in 2026. Some bank economists say the effects of the levies will “fade into the background” during 2026. Just wait, writes @joshualipsky
on.wsj.com/44NeQ4j

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) Dec 30, 2025