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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

The Return of the Essential Art: Electronic Warfare and the Lessons of the Russia-Ukraine War

Matthew Van Wagenen

A Post-Cold War Assumption That No Longer HoldsFor three decades, the Alliance operated under a dangerous assumption: that the electromagnetic spectrum was a permissive sanctuary. Lulled into complacency by [...] More

Opinion

Where Did Venezuela’s Oil Billions Go?

Walter Pincus

“We’re taking a lot of oil from Venezuela, and we’re getting along great with them. Billions and billions of barrels of oil is coming out of Venezuela, one of the most fertile places for oil in the world. And as you know, [...] 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

Open-Source Intel Makes U.S. Troops an Easier Target for Iran

Ari Ben Am

Open-Source Intel Makes U.S. Troops an Easier Target for Iran

Iran is reading American service members’ social media feeds to deadly effect. The fact is that not all intelligence must be gleaned from secret, [...] More

Alternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Book Reviews

Terror's First Celebrity
Terror's First Celebrity

Technology Has Not Replaced Geography and Human Judgment
Technology Has Not Replaced Geography and Human Judgment

Lessons on Political Violence, State Capacity, and Democratic Resilience
Lessons on Political Violence, State Capacity, and Democratic Resilience

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The Best National Security Gossip

THE MABNA MULLIGAN: The Justice Department has unsealed a superseding indictment charging 17 alleged members of Iran's Mabna Institute, (a hacking outfit that is accused of targeting professors at 144 U.S. universities and 178 foreign universities on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and other Iranian entities. Prosecutors believe the hackers successfully compromised roughly 8,000 professor’s email accounts after attempting to breach more than 100,000. They allegedly stole more than 31 terabytes of research, academic material and intellectual property. Some of the stolen material was then reportedly sold [...] 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.”