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The Cipher Brief: National Security news, analysis and expert commentary.

Inside Iran’s New Wartime Leadership

Months of assassinations have hollowed out Iran’s old leadership and elevated a new generation of IRGC power brokers, as Tehran struggles to dispel questions about Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s health and ability to govern.

Iranians Commemorate The Death Of Imam Reza

Tehran’s new power brokersA wave of assassinations rebuilt Iran’s leadership from the top down, leaving a severely wounded supreme leader and a [...] More

Middle East Iran

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Opinion

Why the Navy May Be Going Back to Steam

Walter Pincus

“During its 11-month deployment [mostly in the Middle East] which ended in May, and was the longest for a[n aircraft] carrier since the Vietnam War, the USS Gerald R. Ford conducted more than 11,000 aircraft carrier [...] More

Walter Pincus Fine Print
Opinion

Reviving 20th-Century Tech for Navy?

Walter Pincus

“During its 11-month deployment [mostly in the Middle East] which ended in May, and was the longest for an [aircraft] carrier since the Vietnam War, the USS Gerald R. Ford conducted more than 11,000 aircraft carrier [...] More

Walter Pincus Fine Print
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News & Analysis

TOPSHOT-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-WAR-TRANSPORT-HORMUZ

There Will be Unseen Costs to be Paid over the War in Iran. Who is Weighing Them?

EXPERT INTERVIEW – With an interim agreement expected as early as today between the U.S. and Iran aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping [...] More

Middle East Iran Brad Christian

Opinion

Hyping Nuclear Threats Is Counterproductive

Dr. Zachary S. Davis

Hyping Nuclear Threats Is Counterproductive

Hyping threats of nuclear proliferation to justify war undermines legitimate counter-proliferation policies and paradoxically incentivizes [...] More

Alternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Book Reviews

A Life To Improbable For Fiction
A Life To Improbable For Fiction

Shanghai Spies: Aliases, Lies and Extraterritoriality
Shanghai Spies: Aliases, Lies and Extraterritoriality

Terror's First Celebrity
Terror's First Celebrity

dead drop dead drop

The Best National Security Gossip

GERMANY'S SPY AGENCY LEVELS UP ITS RECRUITING GAME: Forget trench coats: Germany's foreign intelligence service wants gamers. The BND is heading to Gamescom, the world's largest video game expo, opening this week in Cologne, to hunt for "technically skilled secret agents," according to The Telegraph. The pitch: a stealth-and-hacking title the agency built in-house, "BND Legenden: Operation Blackbox," meant to lure players sharp enough to survive a five-stage vetting process testing real cybersecurity and hacking skills. BND spokesperson Julia Linner made the sales pitch plain: "We see significant overlap between gamers [...] More

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Events

Live Events

2026 Threat Conference

2026 Threat Conference

The Cipher Brief Threat Conference is the nation’s premier forum for non-partisan discussion of global threats and solutions as well as high-level [...] More

Upcoming: 25 October, 2026

The Cipher Brief 2027 HONORS Awards

The Cipher Brief 2027 HONORS Awards

Join us for the third annual Cipher Brief Honors Dinner, the evening of April 9, 2027. This Black-Tie event is invite-only. Please apply here for a [...] More

Upcoming: 09 April, 2027

Podcasts

State Secrets

Former CIA Director and retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus joins The Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly for a wide-ranging conversation about the wars reshaping the global security landscape — and why the United States needs to fundamentally rethink how it prepares for the conflicts of the future.

From the war with Iran and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine to China’s military calculations over Taiwan, Petraeus explains how drones, autonomous weapons and rapidly changing battlefield technology are transforming warfare faster than many military institutions can adapt.

On Iran, Petraeus examines whether there is a realistic path to ending the conflict, why maintaining economic and maritime pressure on Tehran matters, and how Iran’s missiles and drones have changed the threat to U.S. forces, regional partners and some of the world’s most critical energy infrastructure.

He also warns against believing the United States can simply disengage from the region.

“Trying to leave the Middle East for the United States is like Michael Corleone trying to leave the mafia,” Petraeus says. “You just keep getting sucked back in.”