A Grim Message for Iranians April 01, 2025
On March 20, Iranians in Iran and in the diaspora commemorated Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Typically, U.S. administrations have used the occasion to practice some soft power diplomacy. In the past, America's Nowruz greetings have taken pains to hig...
The Dangers of Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons April 01, 2025
Pakistan’s Nukes, An Even Bigger Threat Than Iran?: The United States, Israel, and much of Western Europe have long worked together to ensure Iran doesn’t get its hands on a nuclear weapon. But there is another country just as dangerous as Iran that ...
What the Iran War of 2025 Might Look Like March 29, 2025
The U.S. military is positioning B-2 stealth bombers at Diego Garcia, signaling potential strikes against Iran amid heightened tensions....
Why Trump Can’t Beat the Houthis March 28, 2025
Donald Trump took to Truth Social last week to give Iran a violent warning: “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN. IRAN will be held responsible, a...
Intel: Russia, Iran, China, & North Korea Dangers U.S. March 26, 2025
America’s four great adversaries — China, Iran, North Korea and Russia — are increasingly acting in unison to undercut US interests, the intelligence community revealed Tuesday. ...
UK Oct. 7 Commission Report Chills and Instructs March 25, 2025
Last week, following Iran-backed Hamas’ rejection of America’s proposal to extend the Jan. 19 Gaza ceasefire and release all 59 hostages, the Jewish state resumed military strikes. The renewed fighting makes it all the more important to recall the sc...
How Campus Activism on Israel-Palestine Warps Global Security Priorities March 24, 2025
Thanks to university-driven activism over the Israel-Palestine conflict, the war in Gaza has politically sidelined the West’s commitment to global security in other regions of the world.Israel-Palestine is one of the few conflicts that inspires activ...
The Push to ‘Normalize’ Relations With Azerbaijan and Israel March 24, 2025
With President Donald Trump sending mixed messages on Iran — on the one hand, reinstating his “maximum pressure” campaign and threatening military action; on the other, signaling an eagerness to negotiate — anti-diplomacy voices are working overtime ...
Donald Trump, Putin and the Concert of Arabia March 24, 2025
The subject of Iran appears to have been just as important as Ukraine ...
U.S.-South Africa Diplomatic Crisis Provides an Opportunity for a New Beginning March 22, 2025
U.S.-South Africa relations sank to a new low last week after the South African ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, accused the Trump administration of “supremacy” on four occasions during an online lecture on U.S. foreign policy to a South Afr...
Western Leaders Should Think Twice Before Removing Foreign Dictators March 22, 2025
Libya. Iraq. Syria. All were countries that suffered under the decades-long reign of brutal dictators. All have been swept up into anarchic spells of violence and terror after the West moved to overthrow those dictators. With last weekend’s news of t...
America Should Talk to Hamas About Hostages March 21, 2025
Axios recently reported that Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer “lashed out” at U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler in a “tense” phone call for negotiating with terror group Hamas for the return of a kidnapped U.S. citizen.In February, the U....
War on Iran Would Be No Cakewalk March 21, 2025
Politicians often fail to grasp how terrible a proposed conflict would be. ...
Houthi Chutzpah Cannot Last in Face of Israel, U.S. Strength March 21, 2025
As Jerusalemites rush to shelters amid Houthi missile threats, they represent the smallest of Iran's proxies - like schoolyard followers shouting "Yeah!" behind bullies. ...
Gaza Could Get In the Way With Iran Talks March 21, 2025
Do US President Donald Trump and his advisers have a comprehensive strategy for the Middle East, or are they engaged in ad hoc efforts to put out the fires that continue to burn in the region? This is an important question brought to the fore by the ...
Russia and Iran Manage Diverging Interests in South Caucasus March 20, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the wide-ranging Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on January 17 to boost bilateral relations for further progress in areas including opposition to NATO expan...
Does Iran Want a War With America? March 19, 2025
Khamenei May Want Iran to Be Bombed, But He’s Miscalculating: Just a day prior to the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy, Steven Erlanger, the future New York Times heavyweight who was then just a young reporter for the Boston Globe, filed a dispatch f...
Syria’s Next Chapter: Iran Reshapes its Influence March 19, 2025
In the early phase of the Syrian civil war, Iran denied the presence of its forces on Syrian soil despite evidence to the contrary. Later, Tehran was forced to confirm its involvement, justifying it under the banner of “Modafean-e Haram” (defenders ...
The Fragile Axis of Upheaval March 18, 2025
Even regional wars have geopolitical consequences, and when it comes to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the most important of these has been the formation of a loose entente among China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Some U.S. national security experts hav...
Trump Should Resist Another America-Last War in the Middle East March 18, 2025
In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump made clear that he wants history to remember him as a “peacemaker and a unifier.” In his telling, “we will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end—and perhap...
Can Iran Save Itself? March 17, 2025
Over the past year, Iran has grappled with a series of setbacks. Hamas and Hezbollah, Tehran’s long-standing nonstate regional allies, have been weakened by Israel. President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria collapsed suddenly and spectacularly....
Congress Should Pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act March 17, 2025
Much ink has already been spilled on the antisemitism crisis plaguing the United States. As the new Trump administration seeks to crack down on antisemitism on university campuses, Congress should finally pass legislation which treats the subject wit...
Iran Rushes To Upgrade Air Defenses, Fearing Joint Israel-U.S. Attack February 25, 2025
The Islamic regime has domestically developed an air defense system and has Russian S-300s to protect its nuclear sites, the report says, though they are concerned it is not enough. ...
Tehran’s Trump Trap February 19, 2025
Iran is seeking to gain leverage while hoping that Washington will misread its own weakness and fear as goodwill and restraint. ...
Is Iran Ready for a Nuclear Deal? February 19, 2025
There has never been a better time to talk with Tehran. ...
'The Unholy Alliance:' China, Iran, Russia, & North Korea February 14, 2025
But it is important that Trump also realize that on the global stage, China and Iran are a package deal with Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, and any appeasement or leniency toward any of them would embolden the others. In that ...
Trump & Iran: Same Pressure, Different Region February 14, 2025
As Donald Trump retakes the helm as president, he confronts one of America’s enduring Achilles heels—the Middle East, a region rife with seismic political and security upheavals. Adding to the recent activity in the region, Israel has recently receiv...
Will Iran’s Next Supreme Leader Be Its Last? February 13, 2025
Khamenei’s Succession Dilemma and the Future of the Islamic Republic ...
Israel and U.S. Must Cut Hamas off From Tehran February 13, 2025
Israel and US must exert maximum effort to prevent Iran from rebuilding Hamas, or risk erasing IDF's achievements in the war and enabling the Hamas terrorists to carry out another massacre. ...
Iran Diplomacy Can’t Wait February 13, 2025
President Donald Trump says he wants a deal, not a war, with Tehran. “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper,” he wrote last week on Truth Social. ...
Salman Rushdie Faces His Alleged Attacker February 12, 2025
Is the man who tried to murder the novelist a lone wolf or an agent of Iran? Jay Solomon reports from the trial of Hadi Matar....
Trump the ‘Peacemaker’ Faces Many Obstacles February 11, 2025
But deals with Iran, North Korea, and Ukraine are still very much alive ...
The U.S. Cannot Ignore China's Desire for a Naval Base in South Africa February 08, 2025
The Trump administration’s Monroe Doctrine inspired pursuit of a sphere of hegemonic influence in the Western hemisphere faces the vulnerability that it has left the entry point to the South Atlantic, the literal backdoor to that sphere, unguarded. ...
Time to Destroy Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program February 07, 2025
President Donald Trump loves making deals but there is no deal to be had with Iran on its nuclear program, just dead-end negotiations. Instead, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington next week, the deal he should make is wit...
Iran and Trump May Head Toward a New Deal or Conflict February 07, 2025
The economic and geopolitical pressure on Iran is set to increase in 2025, with renewed U.S. sanctions, nuclear tensions, and the risk of conflict with Israel and the U.S. ...
A Paradigm Shift for the Middle East February 07, 2025
The Middle East that U.S. President Donald Trump faces today features dangers and opportunities that were not present when he first took office, eight years ago. The greatest dangers are Iran’s advances toward nuclear weapons and the close relationsh...
Bolivia’s Lithium Window Is Closing Rapidly February 03, 2025
In 2023, Bolivia signed multi-billion dollar deals for lithium extraction with Chinese and Russian state-owned companies, including the CBC consortium and Rosatom/Uranium One. Since then, despite these deals expanding further, very little progress ha...
Iran’s Donald Trump Dilemma February 03, 2025
To talk or not to talk? This is the slogan that’s doing the rounds among the Islamic Republic of Iran’s politicians, hardliner and reformist....
Memo to Trump: Beware the ‘Reverse Teddy’ January 29, 2025
I was proud to serve the president in his first term. But Trump’s strength in the Western Hemisphere could portend weakness in Europe and Asia in his second, writes Matt Pottinger....
Iran’s Shia Crescent Falters January 28, 2025
Iran’s regional influence weakens as the Shia crescent collapses post-October 7. ...
Trump Must Confront Russia-Iran's Defense Pact January 27, 2025
Russia and Iran signed a mutual defense and security cooperation pact on Jan. 17 — just days before President Trump’s inauguration....
How Iran Lost Before It Lost January 24, 2025
“Today, you can get in a car in Tehran and get out in the Dahia, Beirut.” Five years and two months after Gen. Qasem Soleimani made this statement, the Islamic Republic of Iran is in retreat. Iran’s air and ground lines of supply to Lebanon now go th...
Khamenei’s Illusion: Victory, Propaganda and Iran’s ‘Reality’ January 23, 2025
If nearly 70% of your buildings are destroyed by the enemy, what kind of a victory is that? ...
The Hostage Deal Gives Too Much to Terrorists January 22, 2025
The cost of the cease-fire to Israel for freeing only some of the hostages is handing Hamas and Iran an undeserved victory....
Israel Must Prepare for Confrontation With Iran January 22, 2025
Until all facilities and capabilities are dismantled by Iran, willingly or by external forces, Trump administration must return to the “maximum pressure” program. ...
‘Maximum Pressure’ Won’t Work Against Iran January 22, 2025
Donald Trump begins his second stint in the White House with big plans and a world that looks quite different from the one he dealt with during his first term. He will inherit a cornucopia of foreign policy problems and international crises left over...
Stefanik Will Deliver on Trump’s America First Agenda at the UN January 21, 2025
For four years, we have seen the consequences of weak leadership in the White House: a world rife with conflict, a foreign policy that has emboldened adversaries like Communist China and Iran and abandoned allies like Israel further degrading America...
Trump Should Remove U.S. Troops From Syria January 20, 2025
The fall of the brutal Assad regime marks a critical opportunity for the United States to remove itself entirely from Syria, avoiding entanglement in further war. American troops have been in Syria for the past decade with the primary objective of de...
A Better Deal With Iran January 17, 2025
Iran’s inability to support Bashar al-Assad’s regime and prevent its collapse, coupled with recent significant blows to Hizballah and Israeli strikes within Iranian borders, underscores Tehran’s unprecedented regional weakness. ...
Iraq Is in for a Rough 2025 January 17, 2025
Iraq is a developing democracy, but its location — between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria — means that it always faces pressure from outside its borders. ...
Trump Inherits a Planet on Fire January 14, 2025
When Donald Trump first took office in 2017, the world he inherited—while grappling with challenges like the Islamic State—was relatively stable compared to the inferno awaiting him in 2025. ISIS was on the verge of collapse, major powers were locked...
Trump Can Break China’s Grip on Central Asia January 13, 2025
Trump 2.0 must make compromises on Russia, Iran and India if it wants to contain China’s rising influence in strategic region ...
Trump’s Golden Opportunity To Checkmate Iran January 13, 2025
Days away from president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, a clear foreign policy vision is shaping around who used to be considered as a supposed isolationist-in-chief. ...
Who’s Afraid of America First? January 10, 2025
To many countries in Europe, the return of Donald Trump to the White House is seen as a momentous, almost apocalyptic, shift that is likely to disrupt alliances and upend economic relations. Meanwhile, American adversaries such as China, Iran, North ...
Unrest in Iran Grows Over Economic Turmoil January 10, 2025
Iran’s public discontent surged in recent weeks as economic hardships, including widespread power outages and rising inflation, fueled calls for change, Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) researcher Benny Sabti told Maariv on Friday. ...
Iran Increases Military Presence in Venezuela January 10, 2025
Iran is increasing its military presence in Venezuela, with officials and personnel, with some members of the country's elite acquiring properties in the Latin American country and being offered political asylum should they eventually need it. The pr...
Carter, Trump, and the Ghosts of 1980 January 08, 2025
The run-up to the 1981 presidential inauguration was complicated by the on-going captivity of 52 American hostages in Iran. Forty-four years later, the scenario is replaying itself as Hamas operatives continue to hold about 100 remaining Israeli host...
Iran’s Desperation To Cling to Its Crumbling Empire January 07, 2025
Since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime in Syria, Iran’s dictator Ali Khamenei has delivered four inflammatory speeches targeting Syria, including two recent direct threats against uprisings in the country. ...
The Consequences From Iran-Russia Alliance January 07, 2025
Iran and Russia have solidified their partnership amid global geopolitical instability, which signals a growing importance of their cooperation over the years to come. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, set to be formalized during Ir...
BRICS Is Hardly a New Fulcrum of World Politics January 07, 2025
One question that 2025 may begin to answer is whether the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is becoming the new center of power in world politics. Now that it has added new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emi...
Time Is Running Out for Iran-U.S. Diplomacy December 30, 2024
Tensions between Iran and the United States are likely to be one of the first major foreign policy challenges for the incoming Trump administration. Tehran’s recent moves have brought Iran closer to developing a nuclear weapon than any point in the c...
Failing Iran Gives Growing Opportunity for Regime Change December 30, 2024
Iran is more vulnerable and desperate than at any time since its rise to power in 1979. Now is the time for Iranians to topple the regime and pave a pathway to a free, democratic, and unified state. ...
Iran Is the Low Hanging Fruit of the Anti-American Axis December 24, 2024
After Syrian rebels toppled Bashar Assad’s regime, President-elect Donald Trump asserted that the U.S. will stay out of the civil war. He wanted to end wars, he said, not start them. ...
Iran’s Energy Crisis Pushes Country to the Breaking Point December 23, 2024
After weeks of increasingly severe blackouts caused by massive natural gas shortages in Iran, the state power company warned manufacturers on Friday that they need to brace for power cuts that could last weeks and cost billions of dollars. The govern...
What Is Qatar Doing in the Eastern Mediterranean? December 23, 2024
If there is one country in the world that does not need for gas, it is Qatar. The small Persian Gulf emirate may rank third in proven gas reserves after Russia and Iran, but with only 360,000 Qatari citizens, the wealth each derives from Qatar’s acci...
Too Little, Too Late, By Biden on Iran December 21, 2024
President Biden pulled punches when enforcing oil sanctions against Iran. Forsaking the leverage inherited from President Trump’s “maximum pressure,” Biden opted for “maximum deference” from the get-go, and with clearly disastrous results. ...
The Crumbling Pillars of the Islamic Republic December 20, 2024
For over four and a half decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy has revolved around two central objectives: the elimination of Israel and opposition to the United States. These twin pillars have shaped its military doctrine and strate...
Trump Should Seek To Avoid War With Iran December 20, 2024
With only a month until Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, the Middle East is more chaotic than it has been in years. In early December, Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, as his regime in Syria collapsed. The western media has become focused on ...
Trump Confronts a Rising China December 18, 2024
Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela: President-elect Donald Trump will face no shortage of foreign-policy challenges when he assumes office in January. ...
Iran’s Very Bad Year December 17, 2024
Every dramatic development in the Middle East this year has left Iran weaker. ...
In the North: Israel Back to Life, Hezbollah in Ruins December 17, 2024
91st Division commander says Israel must keep acting forcefully against threats from Iran-backed terror group, though war zone is quiet weeks into ceasefire...
Syria’s Pleasantly Surprising New Ruler Sharaa December 16, 2024
He told journalists the region’s problem is the Iran regime while he chooses diplomacy to settle disputes with Israel ...
Make Iran Pay for Its Murders All Over the Globe December 14, 2024
The Iranian regime is obsessive: It obsessively hates Israel and the United States, it obsessively persecutes women, and it obsessively targets dissidents, Jews and politicians abroad. ...
Could Trump Herald a New Era of Peace in the Middle East? December 13, 2024
Donald Trump’s astounding return to the White House has the Middle East bracing for change. In Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond, Trump 2.0 could spark a major peace and reconstruction effort backed by regional Arab allies as part of a new series of Ab...
The American University Is Rotting From Within December 13, 2024
The Western world has many enemies – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea – but none is more potentially lethal than its own education system. From the very institutions once renowned for spreading literacy, the Enlightenment and the means of mastering n...
Trump Team Weighs Options To Stop Iran’s Nuclear Program December 13, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy...
Iran Desperately Searching for a New Proxy December 13, 2024
Syrian rebels forced President Bashar al-Assad to flee Syria for his life on Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Assad asylum on humanitarian grounds. After 53 years of tyranny first begun by his father Hafez al-Assad, the end of the bru...
Trump’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ Won’t Work on Iran This Time December 13, 2024
Donald Trump is back, and so is the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran to “drastically throttle” Tehran’s oil sales. ...
Assad’s Fall Is a Major Blow to Russia December 12, 2024
Russia’s 2015 military intervention in Syria was a bold assertion of its great power ambitions, rescuing Bashar al-Assad's regime and projecting influence in the Middle East. However, recent rebel advances and Assad’s sudden deposal threaten to isola...
Foreign Powers Aren’t Waiting for a New Syria December 12, 2024
Four days after the fall of the Assad dynasty in Syria, the foreign powers that have carved the Arab-majority country up into competing fiefdoms are still trying to come to terms with a dizzying situation. The Syrian people are in the same boat. Whil...
What Russia and Iran Have Lost in Syria December 12, 2024
Now, we turn to the main losers. There are two, and they are big: Russia and Iran. ...
Israel Pulls Itself Together; Iran’s Axis Falls Apart December 12, 2024
The jihadists’ lightning takeover of Syria was followed by the IAF’s vital lightning destruction of Assad’s military infrastructure. Now Iran may think it has only one option left...
Will Tehran Be Next? December 10, 2024
Damascus has fallen — something that has as much to do with Iran as with Syria. Tehran had long kept the Assad dictatorship in power, with its Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, the largest non-state army on Earth. But starting in late September, Israel d...
Iranian Women Speak December 10, 2024
A graphic novel shows the reality of being female under the ayatollahs. ...
Syrian Rebel Leader: A Message for Iran, Trump, and Israel December 10, 2024
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s road to Damascus has been long. He has talked openly about his change along the way. From young al Qaeda fighter two decades ago, to rebel commander espousing sectarian tolerance....
Peace to Prosperity is America First in the Middle East November 26, 2024
A Fortuitous Confluence of EventsDonald Trump’s foreign policy team is shaping up to be great news for Israel, the West, and the proper definition of America First. The erosion of American interests under the Biden Administration means that Trump wi...
Israel’s Trump Delusion November 26, 2024
Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election could not have come at a better time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More than 13 months since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, Israel finds itself on a roll. Since the...
Iran and Russia’s Fragile Partnership November 25, 2024
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has made common cause with Iran. Russia has afforded Iran military support, diplomatic cover, and intelligence. Tehran, in turn, has provided Moscow with weapons of its own and promoted the Kremlin’s...
European Leaders Need To Rethink Iran November 25, 2024
The re-election of Donald Trump as US president could radically transform Europe’s relations with Iran, particularly in a context marked by Israeli pressure and regional tensions exacerbated by the October 7 attacks. ...
For Iran, Disinformation Comes Just Behind Assassination November 25, 2024
Until recently, Iran has been the distant third among disinformation superpowers, with Russia and China ahead in spreading false claims attacking the U.S. and sowing divisions in the country. With the election of Donald Trump, Tehran has accelerated ...
Trump’s Opportunity To Reset U.S.-Iran Relations November 22, 2024
The potential return of Donald Trump and the "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran could reshape U.S.-Iran relations, but regional dynamics have shifted since 2018. ...
Upsetting Hezbollah’s Financial Network November 21, 2024
Israel recently attacked banks in Lebanon it alleges are part of the financial network that supports Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah (a member of the Lebanese government). While Israel is great at the blowing-up aspect of fighting Hezbollah’s fina...
Iran Focused On Syria as Lynchpin of ‘Resistance’ Axis November 21, 2024
Unlike in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, where Iran relies on proxies, Syria’s regime is directly aligned with Tehran. ...
If Israel Attacks Iran Again, Will Trump Help? November 21, 2024
Netanyahu says Iran’s nuclear bomb program is damaged. He would likely need a green light from the president-elect to finish the job. Jay Solomon reports from Washington. ...
The Makings of a Grand Trump Deal in the Middle East November 20, 2024
“Iran is a de facto threshold nuclear power,” said former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. It could be just days or weeks away from being able to assemble a nuclear warhead; nine months to a year from weaponizing it. ...
How Allied Are Iran and Russia Really? November 20, 2024
Iran and Russia will likely sign a strategic partnership treaty in Moscow later this year, upgrading a partnership the sometimes allies, sometimes foes established in the early 2000s. ...
Biden Should Retaliate for Iranian Plot To Assassinate Trump November 20, 2024
The Iranian plot to assassinate Trump is an act of war. It is a direct attack on our democratic process. It cannot be ignored. And simply bringing an indictment against some low-level individuals involved is not enough. Not nearly enough. Our retalia...
A New Era of Total War November 19, 2024
Nearly every day, the U.S. and its allies face cyber-attacks originating from some combination of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, along with other hostile actors. Russian and Chinese spies operate within Western societies as well as in key alli...
The Paradox of Israeli Deterrence November 19, 2024
Last April, it appeared as though escalation between Israel and Iran could plunge the entire Middle East into conflict. ...
Activism & Isolationism: Trump's Middle East Policy November 19, 2024
Although the United States has long sought to reduce its involvement in the Middle East, the looming threat of regional war, opportunities arising from the Abraham Accords and Iran’s weakened influence, and growing US-China competition will likely pu...
Iran’s Ambitions in Western Sahara November 19, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump’s victory bodes well for US-Morocco relations. As King Mohamed VI recalled in his statement congratulating Trump on his election win, during his first term, Trump recognized Rabat’s full sovereignty over the disputed terr...
Western Leaders Must Abandon Cultural Imperialism in Middle East Policy November 18, 2024
Having neutralized key leaders of Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel appears to be preparing its long-anticipated retaliation against the Islamic Republic itself. Although currently limiting attacks to military assets, many are still demandi...
Russia Would Sell Out Iran in a Heartbeat November 18, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has a black belt in judo, which, as he likes to say, has taught him an important life lesson—flexibility. ...
Why the U.S. Should Rethink Its Arms Transfer to Israel November 16, 2024
Following retaliatory strikes on Iran, Israel has entered a new phase of escalation, marking a direct confrontation with Teheran. The intensifying situation not only risks further destabilizing the region, but also forces the U.S. to become increasi...
Restoring Deterrence Will Prevent Endless Wars November 16, 2024
On January 3, 2020, the Trump administration conducted a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, killing Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani. ...
Is Maduro Even Trying Anymore? October 30, 2024
Months after Maduro was declared winner of the latest fraudulent Presidential Election in late July – in which the opposition candidates Edmundo González and María Corina Machado were confirmed as the true winners – Brazil, under the leadership of Pr...
GoodFellows: Hope for Peace, Prepare for War October 30, 2024
Walter Russell Mead, “Global View” columnist for the Wall Street Journal, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss the latest developments in two combat theaters: Israel and Ukraine. Next, the fellows ch...
Lebanon: Don’t Follow Hezbollah, Be Like Azerbaijan October 30, 2024
I call upon the Lebanese people not to allow Iran to build a Shi’ite crescent from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea. ...
Blinken Can Claim One Win After Mideast Trip October 30, 2024
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived back in the U.S. just as Israel was striking Iran — its anticipated retaliation for a massive missile strike earlier this month. ...
Between Proxies and a New Attack on Israel October 30, 2024
Iran operates via proxies in several countries and territories, including Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Gaza Strip. ...
Iran Is Still Trying To Assassinate Mike Pompeo October 29, 2024
Iran is still actively engaged in plots to assassinate two senior Trump administration officials, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, according to a non-public notice sent to Congress and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. ...
Could Israel Bring down Iran’s Regime? October 29, 2024
So, the long-awaited Israeli strike on Iran is finally over, and if we trust the Israeli post-attack analysis, then it went well. Buckling under American pressure not to attack Iranian nuclear or oil facilities, which could have led to massive escala...
Israel Restored Deterrence Against Iran…for Now October 29, 2024
The nuclear threat has not been erased and it's time to translate Israel's military successes into strategic and political gains...
The Long Roots of Iran’s Hatred for the Jewish State October 28, 2024
As the dust settles on the latest confrontation between Israel and Iran in the Middle East, the nature of the Israeli strikes against Tehran this weekend is becoming clear....
Regime Change in Iran Is a Bad Idea October 28, 2024
In 2012, as the Islamic Republic showed signs of buckling under the weight of US and EU sanctions, Senator John Kerry spearheaded a series of backchannel meetings with his Iranian counterparts to begin exploring the deal that became the Joint Compreh...
Israel’s Restrained Iran Retaliation Is a Deadly Mistake October 28, 2024
On October 26, 2024, Israel launched strikes on a security site in Tehran and on the Parchin and Khojir military bases, both allegedly involved in Iran’s covert nuclear program. As on April 19, 2024, when Jerusalem limited its retaliation for a multi...
Israel Was Right To Restrain Iran Strike October 28, 2024
The government was right to restrain the attack. We cannot risk a full-scale war with Iran at the moment. ...
A Clear Message to Iran: Your Nukes and Oil Are Next October 28, 2024
Ayatollah Khamenei now understands the depth of Israeli intelligence capabilities and Iran's own potential vulnerabilities ...
A New Normal in the Israel-Iran Rivalry October 28, 2024
In a significant escalation of hostilities, Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian military facilities signal a critical turning point in the Israeli-Iranian conflict and the wider geopolitics of the Middle East. ...
Israel Does Not Want Full-Scale War With Iran October 26, 2024
Just over three weeks after Iran attacked Israel with 200 ballistic missiles, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) finally launched a retaliatory airstrike on Iranian military facilities last night. The IAF strike reportedly lasted three hours, and was carrie...
More Milei, Less Malarky October 25, 2024
With the presidential election mere weeks away, both candidates are going all out to win over swing voters, and their promises are growing increasingly outlandish — some bordering on illegal. While American voters despair that our election politics h...
NYT: Iran Readies for War Against Israel October 25, 2024
Strike on oil or nuclear sites could lead Tehran to take drastic measures for fear of seeming weak, but attack on weapons depots or military bases may not warrant further response...
Is Iran Next? Israel’s Next Move After Hezbollah October 25, 2024
Israel does not have the luxury of waiting. Iran is determined to destroy Israel. Those who doubt it are fooling themselves. ...
Is Israel Trying To Drag America Into a War With Iran? September 28, 2024
The American general David Petraeus famously asked of the invasion of Iraq: ‘Tell me how this ends.’ ...
Five Ways Nasrallah's Death Changes Israel’s War September 28, 2024
The IDF airstrike on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah weakens Iran’s regional influence and disrupts Hezbollah’s operations. ...
U.S. Should Sanction Iran’s Brutal Judge Iman Afshari September 27, 2024
The death sentences keep coming from Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. In July, the court’s presiding judge, Iman Afshari, pronounced the dreaded verdict for Pakhshan Azizi, a prominent Iranian women’s rights activist and social worker, who ...
Iran Retaliation Is Almost Certain if Hezbollah Leader Killed September 27, 2024
The Israeli military has launched a series of massive air strikes targeting Hezbollah’s underground command headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. The strikes on Friday were reportedly launched after Israel gathered intelligence that Hezbollah leader Hassa...
Iran Plays the Long Game While the U.S. Focuses on Side-Shows September 26, 2024
When mayhem erupts in the Middle East, the Biden Administration reflexively reaches for the band-aid of a ceasefire as if a small strip could staunch a hemorrhage. For months, the U.S. has invested in a hapless Hamas deal. Yet Antony Blinken, the Sec...
Overcoming the Fear of Escalation September 26, 2024
The Biden administration’s fear of escalation with both Russia and Iran has overlooked the manifest weaknesses of both adversaries. ...
The World Must Not Fall for Iran’s Diplomatic Overtures Again September 26, 2024
Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian launches a "charm offensive" at the UN, but his rhetoric masks Iran's oppressive regime and destabilizing actions. The West must not fall for this ploy again. ...
Hezbollah Doesn't Care About Palestinians September 25, 2024
Hezbollah, the Shi'ite militia that holds Lebanon hostage, has always been perceived as an outside player in the Arab world for the way it scurries to carry water for its patron, Iran. To counterbalance this, Hezbollah has always tried to portray its...
Why Pressure on Iran Failed September 24, 2024
“Tough” policies on Iran have consistently failed to alter Tehran’s behavior. ...
Iran’s Russia Problem September 23, 2024
Iran’s newish president and foreign minister could hardly be more different in demeanor. ...
Sinwar Has Trapped either Israel or Iran (And Hezbollah) September 23, 2024
Will Hezbollah conflict expose Israel to being overwhelmed on multiple fronts or prematurely waste Iran's ace-in-the-hole, leaving its nuclear program more exposed? ...
Worsening Situation Under Biden/Harris September 23, 2024
If you’re among the supermajority of Americans who believe that domestic societal and economic conditions have deteriorated under nearly four grinding years of the Biden/Harris administration, imagine what awaits if a major conflict involving China, ...
Striking Iran: Is Time Running Out for Israel? September 21, 2024
Experts discuss whether attacking the Islamic Republic will lead to regional war that could ruin Israel, or whether now is the time to cut off the octopus’s head – before it is too late ...
The Brilliance of “Operation Grim Beeper” September 21, 2024
On September 17, thousands of Hezbollah operatives’ pagers exploded, killing at least 10 and injuring many more. Below is Senior Fellow Michael Doran’s analysis of this unprecedented attack, which he named Operation Grim Beeper. ...
Why Hezbollah and Israel Can’t Make a Deal September 20, 2024
At about 3:30 on a seemingly normal, relatively calm Tuesday afternoon, all hell suddenly broke loose across Lebanon. Pagers belonging to fighters, operatives, allies, and associates of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia suddenly exploded, injuring at...
Blinded Hezbollah Shouldn’t Expect Sympathy in Iran September 20, 2024
The Iranian government defaulted to its influence operations playbook in the aftermath of the September 17, 2024, systematic explosion of Hezbollah pagers, presumably enabled by Israeli infiltration of the supply chain. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, ...
Europe and the Middle East: An Opportunity September 19, 2024
The Lebanese military militia, Hezbollah, is a formidable opponent of Israel; indeed, it is the key pawn which Iran uses to attack Israel....
Is Israel Prepared for War if Deterrence Fails September 19, 2024
The spectacular gambit had apparently been intended to serve as the opening salvo of a major ground offensive. All sides are now weighing their options, including full-scale conflict...
Exploding Pagers Could Ignite Full-Scale Mideast War September 18, 2024
Iran-backed Hezbollah says it will retaliate against Israel for spectacular tech attack, setting the stage for a full-blown war ...
Iran’s Goals Are Even More Nefarious Than You Think August 31, 2024
The countdown is ticking away toward some grand act of revenge for Israel's killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon, and its alleged assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Much of what comes next hinges not on any desire fo...
Why Israel’s Iron Dome Does Not Win Wars August 29, 2024
I remember January 17, 1991 vividly. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait. After repeatedly ignoring demands to withdraw his troops, the U.S. attacked Iraq, igniting the First Gulf War. Israel was not part of the allied coalition, but Hussein made ...
Iran Is Hellbent on Achieving a Nuclear Endgame August 29, 2024
Figuratively speaking, all roads in Iran are dangerously leading to Tehran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. ...
Netanyahu Drags the U.S. Down a Dangerous Path August 28, 2024
The struggle in the Middle East is not between barbarians and freedom seekers, nor between those who sanctify life and those who sanctify death, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted in his recent address to Congress. ...
No Party Desires an All-Out Middle East War August 27, 2024
Another round of Israel-Hezbollah tit-for-tat attacks is over for now, but the danger of an all-out war continues to haunt the Middle East. Both sides have said that despite their reluctance to escalate, they are prepared for it. ...
Iranian Spying Hurting Efforts To Protect Trump, Harris, Biden August 26, 2024
Some U.S. national security officials are convinced that agencies devoted to protecting the security of presidents, former presidents, presidential candidates and their families, as well as current and former State Department secretaries, have been c...
Why Hasn’t Iran Attacked Israel? August 24, 2024
Nearly a month has passed since Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in a Tehran guest house belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. ...
A Revealing Case in Iraq August 23, 2024
In the Middle East, much of the world’s attention is on the conflict in Gaza and appropriately so.But other challenges remain. In Iraq, where American military forces liberated the country from the evil clutches of Saddam Hussein just a few years ago...
America’s Iran Policy a Complete and Utter Failure August 22, 2024
Fading U.S. power in Mideast means Iran and its proxies can attack US forces and allies with little concern of consequences ...
The Balkans Are a Simmering Powder Keg August 22, 2024
As if war in Ukraine, a pending conflict between Iran and Israel, and the Red Sea on fire were not enough, the Balkans — the powder keg of Europe — is now in meltdown. And the Russia- China-Iran troika is behind it. ...
Iran Wants Trump Eliminated by Election Day August 22, 2024
The Islamic regime in Iran is trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump, with hopes of doing so by Nov. 5, Election Day. ...
Securing a Core Group of Allies to Counter Iran August 21, 2024
All revolutions have their intellectual godfathers, the current protean movements seen on American university campuses being no exception. For those wishing to “globalize the Intifada,” there is no greater inspiration than Edward Said (1935-2003), an...
Iraq Returns to the Spotlight as Iran Prods August 21, 2024
Iran convinced Iraqi militias to carry out attacks on US forces in Iraq between October 2023 and January, including Kataib Hezbollah's drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers. ...
Iran Signals Strike On Israel May Not Be Imminent August 21, 2024
Iran is signaling that its promised strike against Israel may not be imminent, with comments from senior officials temporarily easing fears of escalation into a wider regional conflict. ...
Cracks Are Showing in Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Strategy August 20, 2024
Iran projects power through a web of allied militias that it influences with money and weapons. But as the region sits on the brink of a wider conflict, the degree to which it can rely on its partners will be tested as never before....
Iran Tries Rapprochement With Azerbaijan August 19, 2024
Skepticism remains, but regional geopolitics are pushing Iran and Azerbaijan to complete their rapprochement. ...
Careful: The Next World War Could Start Small August 16, 2024
Deterring China, Russia, and Iran under these circumstances will require NATO and its democratic allies to focus on defending the smaller states on the peripheries. ...
U.S. Fighting ‘Four Cold Wars’ at the Same Time August 16, 2024
The U.S. is "fighting four different Cold Wars" with China, Iran, Russia and North Korea and needs to come up with ways to cause divisions between them, according to a foreign policy expert. ...
The Case for a More Strategic U.S. Foreign Policy August 15, 2024
As the nation focuses on the coming presidential election, the foreign policy landscape surrounding the United States is in disarray. Israel is bracing for a retaliatory Iranian attack following their killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeah...
The U.S. Navy Isn’t Ready for Cold War II August 15, 2024
The United States is engaged in a new Cold War confronting four aggressive and colluding adversaries—China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—that is more complex and dangerous than the previous Cold War against the Soviet Union. The United States, along...
Haniyeh Killing Interrupts Iran's Plans August 15, 2024
Following the sudden death of Iran’s president, Ibrahim Raisi, the reformist politician Masoud Pezeshkian won the snap election to replace the hard-liner, a possible successor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei....
Israel’s Terrifying Lack of Strategy August 15, 2024
Israel complacently allowed Iran to build a stranglehold around it; 313 days after October 7, where’s our domestically and internationally formulated plan to break that grip?...
The Mideast Tilts on the Brink of Wider War July 31, 2024
Iran had planned to use this week’s inauguration of its new president to show off its powerful collection of militias....
Hamas Leader’s Killing Could Trigger Iran-Israel War July 31, 2024
Ismail Haniyeh’s murder, assuming Israel was behind the explosive attack, will spark anger in Iran and pressure Tehran to respond ...
Iranian Terror Suffers Major Setback July 31, 2024
Taken together, the possible elimination of Deif and the death of Haniyeh are serious setbacks for Hamas and the Iranian-backed terror axis. ...
Israel Is Quietly Winning the War July 31, 2024
Since October 7, Israel has had one geostrategic imperative: to reinstate deterrence. In the Middle East – and increasingly in Ukraine and further afield – states live or die on the strength of their ability to cow their enemies, and none more so tha...
Iran’s House of Cards July 29, 2024
The Islamic Republic’s succession games are just getting started. ...
Israel and UAE Preparing Nightmare for Iran July 29, 2024
Since the beginning of the operation in Yemen against the Houthi rebellion movement in 2015, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sought control over the Socotra Archipelago, which is under Yemeni sovereignty. ...
Russia and Iran in Latin America July 29, 2024
In January 2023, Venezuelan authorities inaugurated a mural in the capital, Caracas, in honor of Qasem Soleimani, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Quds Force leader who was killed by a U.S. drone attack in 2020....
Russia’s Gateways into the Indo-Pacific July 26, 2024
In September 2022, after both the invasion of Ukraine and a military takeover in Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met with Russian President Vladimir Putin under the umbrella of the Eastern Economic Forum (an event held in Vladivostok) to expl...
Iran Is Still Trying To Kill American Officials July 25, 2024
Donald Trump’s recent brush with death at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania has refocused attention on the vulnerability of current and former senior US government officials to assassination plots, including those by the Islamic Republic of Iran. ...
Netanyahu Lays Out Vision for Anti-Iran Alliance July 25, 2024
PM blasts Tehran as driving force behind turmoil, denounces anti-Israel protesters, defends conduct of war; some hostage relatives removed for protest; Tlaib holds ‘war criminal’ sign...
Russia and Iran’s New Defense Relationship July 24, 2024
On April 2, 2024, Ukraine’s military struck several buildings in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan region. The strike demonstrated Ukraine’s steadily improving ability to hold targets deep inside Russia at risk. ...
Can Iran Resist Collapse? July 23, 2024
While Russia and China remain the biggest threats to America and its Western allies, there is a third unfriendly power that Western leaders should remain watchful of: the Islamic Republic of Iran. ...
Netanyahu To Unveil New Regional Plan to Combat Iran July 23, 2024
Netanyahu will present a new strategy against Iran and Hamas in Congress, amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and criticism. ...
Tel Aviv Strike Shows Iran & Co. Smell Blood July 22, 2024
President Biden’s failures in the Middle East — symbolized perfectly by the floating pier he ordered for Gaza that can’t float — and his political woes at home may be emboldening Iran and its proxies in the region....
All Eyes on Iran’s Reaction to Israel's Strike in Yemen July 22, 2024
Iran wants to push both Hezbollah and the Houthis to increase their attacks as Hamas takes losses in Gaza. ...
Drone Attack, Iran's Nukes, & Israel's Strategic Future July 20, 2024
As Israel grinds ever closer to victory over Hamas, it got hit Friday with reminders that Iran has more catspaws poised to strike: The next battle in the Islamic Republic’s wider war against the Jewish state is just beginning....
Iran’s Expectations for Political Developments in Armenia July 19, 2024
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is moving Armenian foreign policy away from traditional alliances with Russia and Iran, favoring closer ties with the West which could be an important paradigm shift in its foreign policy after dependence on Mo...
The West Against a ‘Deadly Quartet’ of Global Adversaries July 18, 2024
Last week’s NATO summit which highlighted the threat and “systemic challenges” posed by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. ...
Iran’s Plot To Kill Trump & the ‘Moderate’ New Leader July 18, 2024
Iran has once again shown its true self to the world, as seen in plot to kill former President Donald Trump, who so recently survived an unrelated assassin's bullet. ...
Israel Is Enabling Iran’s War of Attrition July 18, 2024
These messianic hallucinators have a willing collaborator in Netanyahu. Together, they are doing more to annihilate the Jewish national project than Iran could ever hope to achieve on its own....
The Fall of the Sahel: A Generational Foreign Policy Failure July 18, 2024
U.S. troops just withdrew from Niger’s Air Base 101—the latest phase in an ongoing complete evacuation of U.S. forces that began following a coup in the African nation one year ago. As an isolated incident this would be troubling enough: however, Nig...
The Return of Reformists in Iran July 17, 2024
Negotiations will be more complex than in 2015, but are still the best chance for regional stability and safety. ...
Alleged Iranian Plot To Kill Trump July 17, 2024
The Trump campaign was informed about an “evolving threat.” Officials said there was no indication of any link to the attempt on Trump's life in Pennsylvania on Saturday....
Iran Says Israel’s Foes Are Winning July 16, 2024
Israel is losing in the war against a coalition of Iran's allies, Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani told Newsweek in his first interview with a foreign outlet. ...
The New President Won’t Change Iran July 16, 2024
On July 5, the parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian prevailed in Iran’s snap presidential election....
The Crumbling of Khamenei’s Regime July 15, 2024
The recent presidential election in Iran, marked by historically low voter turnout and pervasive public rejection, underscores the profound disillusionment and frustration coursing through society. ...
A Space Quad: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran June 29, 2024
The US has flagged as a growing threat to global security an increasingly deepening four-way autocratic quadrilateral quasi-alliance that’s deepening space collaboration among Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. ...
Why Palestinians Are Not Welcomed by Their Neighbors June 28, 2024
Hospitality has been a sacred duty in Arab culture for over a millennium. One must always welcome strangers into your home, providing them with food and protection.Roughly 75% of the population of Gaza is now internally displaced by war. Why won’t th...
A U.S.–Iran War at Last? June 28, 2024
As Israel readies for confrontation with Hezbollah, American war hawks are smacking their lips. ...
Will Turkey Work With Hezbollah? June 28, 2024
Turkey is likely to play a dangerous and unpredictable role in any potential conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Conventionally, Ankara has been interested in limiting Tehran’s regional influence. Lebanon has been a premier theater where Ankara has ...
Iran Election: Hard-Liners Rally Behind Ghalibaf, Jalili June 27, 2024
Hard-liner Saeed Jalili and Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian topped two recent polls, though many Iranians say they don't plan to vote amid widespread opposition to the government. ...
A Cold Revenge: How Iran Baited Israel on October 7 June 27, 2024
Maariv held an in-depth conversation with Prof. Boaz Ganor, Reichman University president and founder of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. We discussed today's pressing issues, Iran's role in the Israel-Hamas War, and developments in...
Israel’s Survival Strategy Against Iran June 27, 2024
Defeat, deter and dissuade – that is how Israel manages its three-front war against Iran and its proxies. ...
Even the Iranian Election Is About Trump June 27, 2024
A specter is haunting Iran’s presidential election—the specter of Donald Trump’s return to office. ...
Biden’s Phony Saudi-Israeli Peace Deal June 27, 2024
The point of the U.S. deal isn’t peace. It’s to prevent the two American allies from coming together, while subordinating them both to Iran. ...
Patterns of Iranian-Israeli Confrontation June 26, 2024
In April, the Middle East almost saw a war the likes of which the region has not seen in a long time. Unprecedented escalation brought Iran and Israel to the brink. It was only a mix of U.S. pressure, Iran signaling its attack beforehand, and Israel ...
Iran’s Multi-Front War on Israel Has Diminishing Returns June 26, 2024
Iran is operationalizing multiple fronts against Israel. In some areas, the groups claim success; in others, it is unclear if the claims match reality. ...
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