“From Tehran to Jerusalem via Gaza: A Hamas rocket’s trajectory,” Christian Science Monitor, May 28, 2021.

“Iran’s Rohani Congratulates Assad On Syria Election Victory,” RFE/RL, May 28, 2021.  “Iranian President Hassan Rohani has congratulated Syria’s Bashar al-Assad on winning a fourth seven-year presidential term in an election dismissed as a sham by the opposition and Western governments, according to an Iranian presidential website. … Assad won the election on May 27 with a majority of 95 percent. The election was the second presidential vote since the country’s conflict began 10 years ago to challenge Assad’s authority following his takeover from his father in 2000, and featured no independent monitors. Assad ran against two little-known figures for Syria’s top post, which has been held by a member of the Assad family for five decades. … The Syrian civil war broke out in 2011 when anti-Assad protests turned into an armed insurgency in response to a brutal military crackdown. The fighting has left nearly half a million dead and half the country’s population displaced, including more than 5 million refugees outside Syria. With the help of Russia and Iran, Assad has crushed the insurgency and regained control over 70 percent of territory.”

NYT gives Milani a favorable quote.  “Today we are witnessing an unabashed attack on any semblance of republican principles in favor of the absolute power of the supreme leader,” said Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University.  See “Iran Clears Way for Hard-line Judiciary Chief to Become President,” Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, May 28, 2021.