iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I was under the impression that the United States had already done something meaningful about Iran’s enrichment capacity. @jacobbogage.bsky.social & @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/interv...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

“Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government said on Sunday it was launching a major military campaign to recapture all areas of the country controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.” www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

reuters.com

Yemeni government launches offensive to seize all areas from Iran-backed Houthis

The government’s armed forces would press the offensive “until the country is liberated from the grip of ‌the terrorist militia,” Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi said in a televised address.

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

U.S. sanctions notice indicates Iran still collects protection money for Hormuz passage, which, in turn, suggests that one reason for the increased oil flow out of the Gulf could be that some transfers take place on Iranian terms. home.treasury.gov/news/press-r... (via @BrettErickson28 on Twitter)

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Reposted by Aron Lund

Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 05/10/2026

Australia renews counterterrorism sanctions on Lebanese-Australian head of Syrian Sovereign Fund: www.dfat.gov.au/news/news/li... Via: www.enabbaladi.net/827899/%d8%a...

dfat.gov.au

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Western and Middle Eastern sources say Saudi Arabia plans an offensive against the Houthis in the not so distant future, using Yemeni ground troops and Saudi air power. Mubasher Bukhari and Timour Azhari, @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

reuters.com

Saudis plan assault on Houthis to break Red Sea chokehold

Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, with options being considered including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multip...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Former OPCW IIT investigator Al Borrelli argues that Russia could not, by 2018, have been unaware of the Syrian Tiger Forces’ habit of using chlorine, and concludes that Russia’s level of insight or involvement in the Douma attack should be investigated. commandwatch.substack.com/p/russia-the...

commandwatch.substack.com

Russia, the Tiger Forces, and the Douma Chemical Attack

An analysis of the Eastern Ghouta campaign and what Russian operational integration means for understanding what happened in Douma in 2018.

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Reposted by Aron Lund

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi @ajaltamimi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Translation & overview of Syrian Muslim Brotherhood Shura Council's recent statement, amid ongoing calls by some supporters of new Sharaa-led order for the group to dissolve itself. Statement deals w/group's positions on situation in Syria & wider region www.aymennaltamimi.com/p/syrian-mus...

aymennaltamimi.com

Syrian Muslim Brotherhood Shura Council Statement

Translation and Overview: Self-Dissolution?

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Bahraini, Kuwaiti, and Iraqi oil shipments “averaged 15.5mn barrels a day in September, the highest level of the war and more than 80 per cent of the average in the 12 months before the conflict began, according to data provider Kpler.” www.ft.com/content/26c5...

ft.com

Middle Eastern oil exports rise to highest level since Iran war began

Shuttle services through Strait of Hormuz have brought shipments to more than 80% of prewar daily average

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Syrian government is in talks with Hezbollah in Turkey. Feras Dalatey, Timour Azhari, and Laila Bassam, @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

(But third time’s the charm.)

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

First time as, etc. etc. truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

“Qatar-based conglomerate UCC purchases the gasoline, and Syria manages transportation and receives transit fees. The shipments are then transported by land to Iraq from the northwestern port through al-Tanf in southeastern Syria.” Ghaith Alsayed, @apnews.com: apnews.com/article/syri...

apnews.com

Iraq begins importing gasoline via Syrian port to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz

Iraqi fuel trucks are loading gasoline at a Syrian port to meet surging global energy demand as the critical Strait of Hormuz remains closed and mediators work with Iran and the United States to end t...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

UAE Vice President Mansour bin Zayed visited Riyadh, met both Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Defense Minister Khaled bin Salman. First visit by a high-ranking Emirati official to Saudi Arabia since relations soured over Yemen, Sudan, etc. @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

reuters.com

UAE vice president visits Saudi Arabia in first visit since rift

UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and met with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the kingdom's defence minister, the first visit by ‌a...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

UAE gave up, announced meeting www.wam.ae/a/3coqvthq

wam.ae

WAM

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The General Secretariat doesn’t normally do this kind of thing, I think? Maybe it’s fronting for the president himself, who doesn’t want to be seen to be a bearer of bad news.

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“Nearly two years after the fall of the regime, Syrians’ patience is running thin as prices continue to climb.” From Sep. 17, @natachadanon.bsky.social & @syriadirect.bsky.social on how rising fuel prices stir up discontent in the Sharaa government’s heartland: syriadirect.org/fuel-anger-e...

syriadirect.org

Fuel anger erupts in the government’s Idlib heartland

Fuel price hikes have sparked widespread protests across Syria, with anger reaching Idlib’s Maarat al-Numan, where residents say rising costs threaten livelihoods, reconstruction and the country’s agr...

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Reposted by Aron Lund

Alexander McKeever @akmckeever.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Tracking appointments to local Hasakah positions, mapped by subdistrict akmckeever.substack.com/p/the-develo...

akmckeever.substack.com

The developing al-Hasakah goverment

Provincial and sub-provincial appointments

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Iraqi Kurdistan PM Masrour Barzani isn’t happy about the US leaving mid-war: “The threat is real—we are vulnerable, we are being attacked. […] Now, to be left alone without any, let’s say, appropriate defensive system, it’s shameful.” Mehul Srivastava, @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/c478...

ft.com

US withdrawal from Iraq ‘shameful’, Kurdish leader says

Iraqi Kurdistan’s prime minister tells FT that departure of American troops leaves them vulnerable to Iranian attack

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Self-serving version of history, but also puts the finger on Moscow’s frustrating experience in the Middle East: it’s always either being treated as Budget America by those who can’t get the real deal, or used for leverage to improve terms with Washington. www.rudaw.net/english/cate...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Den nya Mekkaalliansen samlar tre av Syd- och Västasiens starkaste militärmakter, med 1,4 miljoner man under vapen, enorma oljeresurser, egen försvarsindustri – och kärnvapen. Men räcker det för att skapa en fungerande allians? Läs min senaste UNT-spalt! www.unt.se/ledare/kroni...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I mean, maybe they do, but WSJ’s framing just isn’t backed up by the evidence provided in the article.

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

On Chinese support for Iran’s drone and missile programs. It’s clear that Iran sources a lot of stuff from Chinese companies, but, as before, the evidence of a deliberate Chinese state effort to arm Iran or help it kill US troops feels underwhelming. @WSJ.com: www.wsj.com/politics/chi...

wsj.com

Iran Has a Secret Weapon in Its War With America: Help From China

Trump wants to preserve relations with Xi, but Iranian customs data show Chinese entities have made thousands of shipments of components used in drones and missiles.

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Refai is Syria’s top religious official, chief representative of traditionalist Sunni Islam, and surely the country’s most influential political/social leader outside Sharaa’s Salafi circuit—and he seems to be on the defensive. Maybe this tells us something about current power relations?

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Osama Refai continues to defend himself against what he calls a “very severe campaign,” saying he only used the word “Wahhabi” because its how Indonesians refer to Salafism. Stresses past Salafi-Sufi clerical ties, claims the ex-regime is working to stir up trouble. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yxi...

youtube.com

🔴 حديث سماحة المفتي العام الشيخ أسامة الرفاعي | وحدة الصف واحترام التنوع العلمي والدعوي في سورية

YouTube video by جامع الشيخ عبد الكريم الرفاعي

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Trump says he wants to stop U.S. diesel export, which “would hit developing countries hard and send shockwaves across Europe”. Jamie Smyth & Myles McCormick @financialtimes.com: www.ft.com/content/22d1...

ft.com

Donald Trump says he would back US diesel export ban

Support for suspending foreign sales comes as conflicts in Middle East and Ukraine send price of vital fuel soaring

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Very good @foreignaffairs.com podcast interview by Dan Kurtz-Phelan with @ldfreedman.bsky.social, on the changing nature of military conflict, with plenty of examples from Ukraine and the Persian Gulf. www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/how...

foreignaffairs.com

How to Understand the New Age of War

A Conversation With Lawrence D. Freedman

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"Iran must 'end its arming of and support' for the Houthis in Yemen, the foreign ministers of G7 nations have said in a joint statement." If the Iranians won't comply, this could escalate out of control—potentially even to an EU expression of grave concern. www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Iran must stop arming Houthis in Yemen, G7 says ahead of UN General Assembly

The G7 also condemns "in the strongest terms" Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying that the escalation in fighting in Yemen jeopardises global energy security.

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Syria’s new leaders have successfully navigated daunting political risks, but their haphazard economic policymaking may end up wrecking the post-Assad transition, warns @abujamajem.com in @foreignaffairs.com. www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/syrias...

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Houthi/Ansarallah political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukheiti: "We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy" Samy Magdy, @apnews.com: apnews.com/article/yeme...

apnews.com

Iran-backed Houthi rebels warn against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen's growing civil war

A senior official with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels is warning countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s revived civil war, telling The Associated Press that his group has assured the Trump a...

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Very informative @financialtimes.com article on the otherwise under-reported strangling of non-oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz, by Nicolas Parasie, @alicemhancock.bsky.social, and Andrew England. www.ft.com/content/c9d1...

ft.com

The Gulf cargo trade that vanished

The Strait of Hormuz was a transit hub for goods from helium to corn. Businesses have battled to find alternative routes

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

An @enabbaladi.bsky.social writeup of the Refai affair includes a comment from Abdullah al-Moheisini who is shocked and saddened to hear that someone would make a link between Salafism and extremism. www.enabbaladi.net/826011/

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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

UAE’s Anwar Gargash calls for direct Arab-Iranian security dialogue. Sensible idea, for all its limitations. @almonitor.bsky.social: www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

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