The ongoing developments on the eastern side of the Arab world have faced the Arab and the Muslim countries with a vital and very important question. The question is which groups or peoples will be possible winners and losers of the sectarian strife in this region? 

A review of the latest developments in Syria will show that conflicts between the Syrian army and the armed opposition have entered a new phase. The most suitable word which can be possibly used to describe this phase of Syrian conflicts is “the show of force in the battlefield between the army and the armed opposition.” 

There is no sign of a new plan or even conspiracy on the political horizon of Yemen right now, but Saleh has proven that he is an indefatigable player. At any rate, if Hadi manages to go ahead with the restructuring in a correct way, Saleh will be stripped of his most important tools and will practically have limited capacity to react to possible future changes.

The people of Iran know that the year 2013, like its predecessor 2012, will be characterized with hardships, sanctions and animosities. However, a greater number of them is now hopeful about a brighter outlook in 2013.

Political developments in the Middle East have been approached from various viewpoints. The latest decision by Turkey for the deployment of the Patriot missile system along its borders with Syria in late 2012 and Iran's opposition to that decision as well as differences between the two countries’ attitudes toward political developments in Syria in 2011 and 2012, were among the most important of those developments. What is the true reason behind different approaches taken by Turkey and Iran to Syria, which is the last link in a chain of political upheavals that have swept through the Middle East in the past two years?

At present, about 30 countries are directly or indirectly responsible for the prolongation of the ongoing crisis in Syria. This is the main reason why despite “outward” efforts by the United Nations, the crisis in the Arab country is expanding in dimensions with every day passing by. Out of those 30 countries, there are a few countries which play a special role in this regard with the United States, as usual, being ahead of other warmongers by a great distance. 

Al-Nusra Front is an organized armed group with high influence in Syria which has been recently blacklisted by the United States as a terrorist group. It is present throughout Syria from northern border of the Arab country close to Turkey, down to Syria’s border with Lebanon. Out of all armed groups fighting against the Syrian government, it has more trained militants and more advanced weaponry. This issue has cast doubts on the true nature of this group.

The main question relevant to the existing situation in Afghanistan is whether achieving any form of reconciliation between the Taliban and the government in Kabul is practically possible? If the answer is positive, under what conditions, and if not, why? 

During the past four decades, Palestine has been able to convince the international community to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1974 followed by official recognition of the Palestinian Self-Rule in 1993, and finally upgrading Palestine’s status in the United Nations from “non-member entity” to “non-member observer state,” in 2012.

This paper focuses on the analysis of the viewpoint of those who believe that Iran is an unpredictable and ideological player. From the viewpoint of the writer, this viewpoint is riddled with flaws given the history of Iran's foreign relations.