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

Report for Monday, June 23, 2025

  • World Braces for Iran’s Response After US Strikes Signal New Era

  • Satellite images indicate severe damage to Fordow, but doubts remain

  • Putin says 'the whole of Ukraine is ours,’ does not rule out capturing Sumy

  • Taiwan is 'of course' a country, president says in rebuke to China
Access the Report
Former CIA Director on the Priority Intelligence Requirement in Iran
EXPERT INTERVIEW – Tehran’s response on Monday to U.S. attacks against its nuclear facilities over the weekend was measured and possibly calibrated [...] More

The Experts

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

What Was Trump Thinking When He Ordered the Strike on Iran?

Walter Pincus

OPINION / FINE PRINT — “I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked [...] More

Will Anything Stop Iran's Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons?

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

OPINION -- The weekend bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow surprised the leadership in Tehran. It shouldn’t have, given [...] More

News & Analysis

Experts Assess Iran Strikes, Response and What Comes Next

Experts Assess Iran Strikes, Response and What Comes Next

EXPERT SUMMARY -- Given this weekend’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the incredible fast pace at which events are unfolding, The Cipher [...] More

Opinion

The Intelligence Behind the Strike: Was Everyone Wrong About Iran’s Nuclear Program?

OPINION — On June 13, 2025, just after midnight, Israel launched a military operation against Iran, citing an urgent need to halt Tehran’s march [...] More

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Book Reviews

IT ONLY TOOK 116 YEARS: The British Secret Intelligence Service better known as MI6 will soon be headed by its first-ever female chief when Blaise Metreweli, who now runs the technology and innovation division, takes over for Sir Richard Moore later this year. For those who know more about MI6 from James Bond movies that from real life, it’s interesting to note (as the BBC did) that the chief is commonly referred to as “C” – but the “C” doesn’t stand for chief as one might think. According to the BBC, “Britain's very first spy agency was called the Secret Service Bureau, established in the 1900s. It was led by a Royal [...] More

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Threat Conference

Cipher Brief sessions are expertly crafted and focused on ways the public and private sectors can most efficiently work together to address key [...] More

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Podcasts

State Secrets



Writing a book was something former senior CIA Officer Rob Dannenberg never thought he’d do, but as he started reflecting on the ways he and his former colleagues would celebrate the successful recruitment of a new agent or the end of an operation that he couldn’t talk about, he started thinking about the cocktails he and his colleagues would order to mark the occasion. Dannenberg recruited former colleague Joseph Mullin, CSW to help him compile not only the best recipes for the cocktails that defined their careers, but also for the stories that make them all the tastier.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment


Martin Dugard is an enormously prolific, best-selling author. In addition to ten mega-million selling books co-authored with Bill O’Reilly, He has authored a fistful of books about World War II including “Taking London,” “Taking Berlin” and “Taking Paris.” Now he is back with “Taking Midway: Naval Warfare, Secret Codes, and the Battle That Turned the Tide of World War II.” Podcast host Bill Harlow will talk with him about his sources and methods for cranking out so many deeply researched and well-received books – and what the world should know about a crusty 4-star admiral and a quirky Navy commander who combined to surprise the Imperial Japanese Navy and the world in one of the most consequential naval battles in history.