Thousands dead, internet blackouts, and a currency in freefall, Iran is facing sustained nationwide unrest met with unprecedented brutality. Wikistrat convened Dr. Sina Azodi, Ahmad Hashemi, and Alex Vatanka to assess what makes this wave different, why elite cohesion still matters, and the scenarios ahead, from continued repression to IRGC consolidation, regime collapse, or fragmentation.

How do the Houthis fund their Red Sea operations despite international sanctions? New Wikistrat research exposes a $900M cryptocurrency laundering network connecting Iranian oil sales, stolen Ukrainian grain, and shell companies across three continents. This report maps the financial infrastructure sustaining one of the Middle East's most resilient non-state military forces.

What could reshape geopolitics in 2026? Wikistrat's latest report maps five wildcard scenarios: an IRGC coup in Iran, Chinese humanoids deployed in Ukraine, Pakistan's military forced to restore civilian rule, China's EUV breakthrough, and a U.S. Rust Belt revolt against automation. Not predictions, but stress tests for what's next.

Taiwan is not on the brink of a 2027 invasion; the real danger is unfolding quietly in the gray zone. Dr. Minxin Pei dismantles the countdown narrative, arguing Beijing's destabilizing tools are already in motion, from military drills to pressure on undersea cables. The flashpoint is 2028, when elections in Taipei, Washington, and the Philippines collide with a Chinese leadership refining hybrid warfare options that stop short of war yet carry strategic shockwaves.