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The inexorable ascension of the Islamic State constitutes a major threat for the Muslim world and indeed the entire planet. The goal of this jihadist organization is totalitarianism. It seeks to seize increasingly wide swaths of territory and enforce Sharia law, massacring any 'infidels' who cross its path and who do not share this retrograde version of Islam. In just a few years what was initially just another small group of Iraqi Sunnis has practically become an actual state. In eastern Syria and Western Iraq the Islamic State now controls territory larger than Great Britain and has gained allegiance from a number of terrorist movements in such diverse regions as the Sahel or Pakistan. Despite the rivalries between ISIS and other ultra-radical entities like Al-Qaeda or the al-Nosra Front, today ISIS is the embodiment of international jihadism. What's more, everything indicates that its expansion is far from over. Adapted from the source document.

In the spring of 2012, the end seemed nigh for Bashar al-Assad, Cornered by a rebellion that was advancing from strength to strength, the Damascus regime's future seemed to hang by a thread. Foreign ministries around the world were already making plans for a post-Assad Syria. But the tide has turned, the government has reversed the situation and its troops have recaptured several key towns. The reasons for this turnaround can be traced to the ruthlessness of the loyalist forces, who have flattened whole neighborhoods without the slightest regard for civilian life, as well as divisions among the rebels, who are too disunited to make common cause: when not actually fighting each other, they glare at each other across the table. Any radicalization of the conflict, which in the extremely violent circumstances seems likely, would play into the hands of the most hard-line jihadist rebels. The hope was that Syria would shrug off its tyrant and chart a course towards democracy, but Assad is still there and his country has become the promised land for global jihad. Adapted from the source document.

Ali Akbar Veiayati, senior adviser for foreign affairs to Iran's Supreme Leader, was interviewed by Jean-Pierre Perrin in Tehran for Politique Internationale. Mr. Velayati provides an unalloyed analysis of the regional situation. The foreign minister of Iran for nearly 17 years. All Akbar Velayati is not afraid of ruffling international opinion. With Syria still in the throes of violence, and most governments betting on the fall of Assad, Mr. Velayati insists that the rebels have no chance of winning. He also summarily dismisses the threat of Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, claiming that Israel is incapable of such an audacious move. Ali Akbar Velayati is one of the key figures in today's Islamic Republic of Iran. He is a potential candidate in the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for June 16, 2013, and his victory is far from impossible. Adapted from the source document.

Syria has been wracked by unrest and bloody repression for several months. It all started when the police opened fire against protestors in Deraa, in southern Syria. The protests quickly expanded to most other cities, from the banks of the Mediterranean to the eastern borders. The people, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, are demanding that president Bashar al-Assad step down. But the situation in Syria is more like that in Libya, minus the international intervention. The ruling party has unleashed its armed forces against demonstrators and has savagely attacked peaceful marches. The scattered opposition is now trying to unite around a single platform. It must at all costs avoid responding to the government's provocations, since the al-Assad regime hopes to see the opposition engulfed in turn by internal violence. But time seems to be on the side of al-Assad's adversaries: even his most faithful supporters, both within the country and outside, are beginning to have doubts about the dictator's ultra hard-line strategy. Adapted from the source document.