Welcome back to the MBN Friday Briefing, our roundup of the best stories on our flagship Arabic-language Alhurra platform, which is also available in English. Read the Arabic version of this newsletter here. If you were forwarded this Friday Briefing, subscribe here. We’d love to hear from you at thebriefing@mbn-news.com.
If man is the measure of all things and truth and reality are relative, it’s no surprise that Tehran and Washington each claimed to control the Strait of Hormuz this week. The bottom line remains that traffic through the important waterway is but a dribble. Efforts to secure the strait are becoming vital as the International Energy Agency warns that global oil stockpiles are rapidly diminishing. MBN’s Joe Kawly gives you the latest on Iran, writing about how Washington and Tehran continue to negotiate without formally sitting down at the table.
This week, we also take you inside a Middle East where old alliances are being tested. The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is sticking to its Gaza roadmap despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s objections. In Iran, veteran Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei is back at the center of power. For more on Rezaei, our Iran Briefing Podcast looks at how the revolution’s assassins are now running the country.
Meanwhile, Iraq has its broadest and biggest crackdown on Iran-backed militias yet, while Syria rewrites the terms of Russia’s military presence.
This Week on MBN:
Peace Board Defies Netanyahu
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance sit together surrounded by members of the “Board of Peace” during a signing ceremony / AFP
The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is standing by the plan for Hamas to disarm in discrete stages, paving the way for reciprocal withdrawal of Israeli forces. The framework is at the heart of President Trump’s Gaza plan, despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of it, reports Alex Willemyns exclusively for MBN. The roadmap is “advancing” and will continue to rely on verified, step-by-step commitments from both sides, a board official told MBN. The plan links phased disarmament of Hamas to reciprocal Israeli withdrawals, while Netanyahu demands full disarmament of Hamas first. Will Washington insist on a diplomatic framework that Netanyahu and Israel don’t fully accept?
Read the article here
Diplomacy Without a Table
A U.S. flag flies at the Bürgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026, as U.S., Iranian, Pakistani and Qatari officials held talks aimed at ending the Middle East conflict. / Nathan Howard, Pool via AFP
Washington and Tehran are increasingly negotiating in public, using statements and media appearances alongside private diplomatic channels.
While the U.S. keeps up its military and economic pressure, Iran denies that formal talks are underway at all, even as it continues exchanging messages through intermediaries and pressing broader demands. What we have is more akin to “semi-negotiation,” writes MBN’s Washington Bureau Chief Joe Kawly, or staying diplomatically engaged without appearing too eager to compromise. The result is a standoff that is neither a traditional negotiation nor a conventional war. Meanwhile, both sides are trying to shape markets, public opinion, and each other’s calculations.
Read the article here
Why Khamenei Turned to Rezaei
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Mohsen Rezaei attend a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem.
Mohsen Rezaei, one of the most powerful veterans of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, is back. He’s currently at the center of national security decision-making, just as Iran faces war, tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, negotiations with Washington, and growing pressure at home. Dalshad Hussein looks at why Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei chose Rezaei to return as the new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and what his appointment says about the balance of power in Tehran. Andres Ilves discusses this new power dynamic in the Iran Briefing Podcast.
Read the article here and check out the latest Iran Briefing podcast
Iraq Moves Against Militias
A member of the Iraqi security forces is pictured on an empty street as a two-day nationwide curfew has been enforced for the national population census, in Baghdad, Iraq, November 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Iraq has launched its broadest crackdown yet on Iran-backed armed groups residing in the country, according to exclusive information obtained by Alhurra. Security forces have raided militia headquarters, seized hundreds of drones and arrested members of several factions in Baghdad, Babil and southern Iraq. One raid uncovered advanced drones allegedly being prepared for attacks outside Iraq, with the cell linked directly to Iranian figures who carry out drone operations. The campaign comes as Baghdad gives armed groups until Sept. 30 to surrender their weapons and come fully under state control.
Read the article here
Syria Rewrites Russia’s Role
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shows the way to Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 15, 2025. Sputnik/Sergey Bobylyov/Pool via Reuters.
After a year and a half of negotiations, Syria and Russia have signed a memo of understanding, or a “reorganization of Russian presence on the Syrian coast.” The agreement reduces Moscow’s military presence in Syria at the key bases of Hmeimim and Tartus. Damascus will regain control of civilian facilities, while Russian military sites will be turned into joint training centers. MBN’s Jowan Ibrahim examines whether the deal marks a real Russian retreat or simply a smaller presence operating under new Syrian rules. Russian views are sharply divided, with some calling the deal a pragmatic adjustment and others describing it as another defeat for Kremlin policy.
Read the article here
Quote of the Week: Hormuz Closed
As long as America does not change its behavior and does not accept Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened.
—Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Aug. 11
