The latest news today: Iran has agreed to join the conversation to help find a resolution to the Syrian civil war and will be attending a meeting in Vienna on Friday along with several other countries.
Iran, who is in support of the Assad regime in Syria, will be joining Russia, who also supports Assad and is against ISIS (sort of?), and the United States, who has trained and funded rebels fighting against Assad and is also against ISIS. Turkey, a U.S. ally who just admitted to bombing U.S. allies, will also be at the resolution talks.
Wait, the enemy of whose enemy is whose friend again?
If you’re wondering who, exactly, is fighting whom, check out the following simplified explainers.
Here’s a five-minute video from Vox that offers a brief history of the Syrian civil war beginning with 2011’s Arab Spring.
Read this list from the Times if you’re interested in more information about the fighting itself.
And for an extremely condensed version, try this two-minute video from CNN. You might have to watch it twice.
