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Saudis Seize Bandar Abbas, Advance Slows in Zagros Mountains Grand Central Times - January 20th, 2020 Elements of the Saudi 17th Mechanized Brigade and the 22nd Light Motorized Brigade have completed their capture of the coastal city, Bandar Abbas, according to a spokesman for the Saudi Armed Forces. After a short battle with the last holdouts of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on the north side of the city, the Saudis claimed victory over the entire urban landscape, despite reports of skirmishes continuing well into the night. The Iranian armed forces, which have already been stretched incredibly thin fighting the Kurdish rebellion and attempting to make up for their losses from the American bombardment of the Iranian coast, were unable to make much of a conventional defense of the region, though the Saudi advance has not been without losses. The Iranian Human Rights Observatory reported that at least thirty-five Saudis were killed in yesterday’s fighting, though the Saudi government only confirmed six. Pictured: Saudi Forces advancing from their beachhead West of Bandar Abbas The Saudi invasion, ostensibly to “restore order to the Arabian Sea and ensure that global trade is not disrupted”, has faced criticism as a blatant land grab and doubts have been raised about how far the Saudi army intends to push into Iran. Iran has decried the invasion as illegal and has already tabled a motion at the UN to sanction Saudi Arabia for their actions. There have also been sporadic counter-attacks by the Iranian armed forces, but for the time being the scattered Iranian troops along the coast have largely been forced to fight tactical withdrawals towards the Zagros mountain range. Many analysts have speculated that without the American strikes along the coast in 2019, the mostly-unopposed landings would have been impossible for the amphibious-inept Saudi Royal Land Forces. By Archibald Wavell Grand Central Times

Uprising in Iran results in Kurdish statehood. Ever since the uprising began in late 2019 following Iran’s bungled response to American military action in the Straits of Hormuz the Ayatollah has struggled to regain control of the Kurdish dominated borderlands with Iraq and Turkey. Multiple attempts to regain control via military force have failed as the Kurdish rebels are firmly entrenched in the westernmost provinces of Iran and hold significant stockpiles of advanced weapons allegedly provided by NATO in an effort to further weaken Iran. Regardless of foreign aid or not the Kurds seem like they are here to stay. A spokesperson from the “Provisional Republic of Kurdistan” has approached Iraqi and US governments with the proposal of uniting Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan into a coherent Kurdish state. Given the Iraqi Kurds already extensive autonomy the US Government has urged their Iraqi counterparts to accept the proposal resulting in the establishment of the Republic of Kurdistan last week. Kurdish YPG forces in Iranian Kurdistan celebrate a victory over Iranian forces. Bringing together the war-torn territory of the new nation falls initially to president appointee Berewan Romet. In accordance with the Treaty of Mosul establishing Kurdistan he is to rule the country for a period of 2 years as a functional apparatus of state is set up. After this initial period open elections are to be held every 4 years. The status of the Kurdish minorities in Syria and Turkey are expected to become hotly debated topics given Syria's and Turkeys refusal to participate in the Kurdish nationbuilding. For now however Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan are being united with the Turkish and Syrian Kurds being left out. Some talks about the possibility of a population transfer has been brought up but has yet to manifest in anything substantial. As was expected the Ayatollah in Tehran has condemned this step describing it as "Another American imperialist venture" and "An attempt to utterly dismantle the Islamic Republic of Iran". However with ever growing dissent at home and multiple military setbacks against the Kurds there seems to be very little Iran is capable of doing to prevent this redrawing of the borders in the Middle East. The new Republic of Kurdistan Simon Tam ADA News. Middle East Division

Iranian Counteroffensive Retakes Siraf Main News Channel - January 27th, 2020 The ongoing counteroffensive that was launched last week by the Iranian army has retaken the important crossroads of Siraf, severing the overland supply lines Saudi forces had with their troops west of the town. This leaves at least two Saudi brigades surrounded, and the port facilities in the area have taken heavy bombardment from Iranian ballistic missiles. The fighting in the area has reportedly claimed at least 55 lives from soldiers on both sides, and there are concerns that civilians in the area are in danger of suffering from a lack of medicine. Pictured: Iranian ballistic missiles landing in on the Saudi-occupied port of Tonbak. The Saudi invasion of the Iranian coast started with some wondering if the battered Iranian military would simply be forced to retreat into the mountains and surrender their coast to the Saudis. This week’s counteroffensive has dispelled those beliefs, routing the Saudi army who has so far only seen small skirmishes from scattered and largely untrained Iranian garrison forces. With the deployment of the battle-hardened regular Iranian forces fresh from fighting on the Kurdish front, the spread-out Saudis suffered a string of defeats in the western half of the country. There are numerous reports of Saudi units falling back in a disorganized manner, though a spokesperson for the Saudi armed forces denied these as “worthless Iranian disinformation”. By Philippe Leclerc Main News Channel