1/ Iran faces very serious problems even if the currently paused war ends with an agreement, warns Russian political scientist Nikolai Sevostyanov. While many Russians are celebrating the Iranian 'victory', Sevostyanov says the hardest part is still ahead. ⬇️
2/ Guest-writing on the 'Voenkor Kotenok' Telegram channel, Sevostyanov says:
3/ "The Iranians are the clear winners today.Trump raised the stakes as high as they could go and then backed down; the Islamic Republic has preserved its territorial integrity;…
4/ …and the key issue in the upcoming negotiations will be the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran now regards as a legitimate prize.
And now a very important point, which is that there is another side to everything that is happening.
5/ "Let's assume that stable agreements are reached, the Strait of Hormuz remains with Iran, and everyone in the world will come to the conclusion that Trump has lost his war. What next?
6/ "1) And then Iran in any case enters an even more acute phase of the economic crisis. The fuel situation, which has already become a trigger for mass protests, will worsen. The situation with budget payments will worsen. The national currency will continue to depreciate.
7/ "Inflation will continue to rise. Even if Tehran will be able to receive the coveted $2 million from some portion (!) of the ships passing through the strait, this in itself will not save the economy,…
8/ …which was in a terrible state even without the war, not to mention the fact that all the freed up resources will be directed to restoring military potential.
9/ "2) The monarchies of the Persian Gulf will from now on perceive the Islamic Republic quite clearly – as an existential threat. A return to the format of a "complex partnership" is impossible.
10/ "This means not only the rapid militarisation of the Arabian Peninsula and the building of strategic relations with Israel, but also the resumption of discussions about the advisability of the UAE and Saudi Arabia developing their own nuclear weapons.
11/ "And as a "bonus" – that Tehran will no longer be able to circumvent sanctions through the "sheikhs".
12/ "3) Iran will in any case face management difficulties. Administering a country in a war is often much easier than in a fragile, but peace.
13/ "In relation to Iran, this is especially relevant, since in recent weeks a number of very "tasty", high-status and profitable positions were effectively perceived as "vacancies for kamikazes."
14/ "As soon as this perception begins to fade into the background, intra-elite contradictions will rapidly escalate. We will definitely see a "witch hunt for Israeli spies."
15/ "4) Moreover, one of the key problems could be precisely the radical strengthening of the IRGC's role, which has proven itself so effectively in the face of active combat. If before the war, the Corps was a "state within a state," now its appetites have grown rapidly.
16/ "And if previously, according to various estimates, the IRGC controlled between a quarter and a half of Iran's GDP, this figure is guaranteed to increase in the near future, which, in turn, will only exacerbate economic problems.
17/ "5) New protests are also inevitable. There are tens of millions of people in Iran who sincerely hate the Islamic Republic and believe it has led the country to a civilisational dead end. This is not American or Israeli propaganda; it is an objective factor.
18/ "Despite the fact that Trump, with his idiotic statements about the "Stone Age" and the "destruction of Iranian civilisation," has done literally everything to consolidate as many Iranians as possible around the regime, such consolidation is a short-lived process.
19/ "During the 12-Day War, many opposition-minded Iranians also rallied around the flag, but that didn't stop them from immediately posing a direct threat to the ayatollahs' power in January 2026. It won't stop them from doing so again.
20/ "Yes, the Islamic Republic won the battle itself. It won simply because it stood firm. But then again, that's assuming the battle is over. But then, the country will face all its past problems, some of which will be doubled. And new ones will emerge alongside them.
21/ "And while Iran demonstrated during this war that it can learn from mistakes in military strategy, there are very serious and well-founded doubts…
22/ …about its ability to address domestic issues and its willingness to engage in dialogue with a significant portion of its own population." /end
1/ The Iranian Republican Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has published a map showing the 'new' shipping lanes for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. However, what it shows greatly increases the risk of future shipping disasters in the Persian Gulf. ⬇️
2/ The Strait of Hormuz is only 33–39 km (20-24 mi) wide at its narrowest point, but its usable width is far narrower. The shipping lanes in the middle of the Strait pass through a 9 km-wide (5 mi) stretch of the deepest water, comprising two 3 km wide lanes with a 3 km gap.
3/ Iran is currently diverting ships around Larak island to the north of the existing shipping lanes, through the so-called 'Tehran Tollbooth'. However, this has a major problem: the water between Larak and Qeshm is only 20 m deep, far too shallow for fully loaded oil tankers.
1/ This continues Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev's analysis of the state of Russia's drone warfare; see the links below for parts 1 and 2. In this part, he assesses the crucial role of communications systems in drone control. ⬇️
1/ This continues Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev's analysis of the state of Russia's drone warfare; see the link below for part 1. In this part, he assesses problems with unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) which have become acute since Russia lost access to Starlink. ⬇️
There's an interesting picture here: the enemy is increasing their use, while we're decreasing it. And it's not because we're physically short of them—they're sitting in warehouses by the thousands.
1/ Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev has posted a lengthy and detailed description of what is going wrong for Russia in the drone warfare arms race, where he admits that it has fallen badly behind Ukraine, with lethal consequences for the Russian army. ⬇️
2/ Chadayev is the head of the Ushkuynik Research and Production Centre, a leading Russian drone development organisation. He is a key organiser in the 'People's Military-Industrial Complex', a loose coalition of voluntary groups which provides the army with equipment.
3/ He asks:
"1. How exactly has Ukraine regained its lost leadership in the "small sky" over the past six months?
1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin reflects the views of many Russian commentators today in declaring Donald Trump's apparent climbdown over Iran to be a huge fiasco. He argues that "US authority will now be greatly undermined, and Trump's authority even more so." ⬇️
2/ News of the ceasefire in the Gulf has made its way very quickly to the special prison for jailed former security officials where Girkin has been held since January 2024. He also hasn't wasted any time in responding on his Telegram channel:
3/ "To say I'm shocked to the core—no, I'm not. In fact, deep down, I suspected the possibility of such a U-turn. The shouting and threats leading up to the behind-the-scenes agreement were too theatrical.
1/ Russia's current efforts to advance are getting nowhere due to endless swarms of Ukrainian drones, says the head of the Novorossiya Aid Coordination Centre. He suggest that instead, Russia should 'temporarily' bank its gains and go on the defensive. ⬇️
"Now it's important to take a very realistic assessment of the situation as of April 2026 and determine what we need to do in the near future to achieve Victory.
The most important factors in this situation are:"
3/ "▪️The fatigue of our troops, due to the lack of long-term rotations and many other reasons, is becoming a critical factor of strategic significance!!!
▪️The enemy achieved considerable success in destroying our air defences in February and March.