Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Iran

U.S. And Israel Wage War Against Iran

U.S. Intel’s Sobering Assessment of Iran’s War Resilience

Four weeks into Operation Epic Fury, with airstrikes having killed a sitting supreme leader, wiped out scores of top military and intelligence [...] More

Middle EastIran

The Latest

Blockade by Permission: How Iran Determines Who Gets Through Hormuz

Blockade by Permission: How Iran Determines Who Gets Through Hormuz

For roughly two weeks, the Karachi, a Pakistani-flagged Aframax tanker loaded with crude at Das Island in Abu Dhabi, sat waiting for a signal that [...] More

Middle EastIran

Why the ‘Day After’ Is The Most Important Day in the Iranian Conflict

Paul Miller

Why the ‘Day After’ Is The Most Important Day in the Iranian Conflict

OPINION — The countries that get held up as models for this kind of US led attack are worth looking at closely, because they’re instructive in the [...] More

Middle EastIran

Down But Not Out: Iran’s Axis of Resistance

Michele Kernitsky

Down But Not Out: Iran’s Axis of Resistance

OPINION — When HAMAS attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, Iran and its partners around the Middle East—collectively known as the Axis of [...] More

Middle EastIran
STRAIT OF HORMUZ - 17 JANUARY 2026

At the Center of the World’s Most Dangerous Chokepoint

EXPERT INTERVIEW – Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and growing concerns about the security of global energy supplies, the Strait of [...] More

Middle EastIran
Interceptor Math: How Iran’s Drone Swarms Strain U.S. Defenses

Interceptor Math: How Iran’s Drone Swarms Strain U.S. Defenses

Western intelligence assessments indicate that Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal has been cut in half - from roughly 2,500 projectiles down to [...] More

Middle EastIran

The War’s Next Phase: Five Indicators That Matter Most

General Scott Miller (Ret.)

The War’s Next Phase: Five Indicators That Matter Most

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – I’m always reluctant to comment on current events, as it feels a bit like being an armchair quarterback, but I have been asked [...] More

IranMiddle EastExpert View
Commercial vessels divert to UAE coasts amid navigation issues

The Hormuz Standoff: Global Energy Flow Severs After 'Epic Fury' Strikes

The Hormuz Standoff: Global Energy Flow Severs After 'Epic Fury' StrikesAs tensions in and around Iran proliferate, the narrow waterway between Iran [...] More

Middle EastIran
After the Strikes: Is Iran on the Brink?

After the Strikes: Is Iran on the Brink?

U.S. and Israeli forces intensified their unprecedented military campaign against Iran over the weekend, striking strategic military, political and [...] More

Middle EastIranBrad Christian
Inside the High-Stakes U.S. Pressure Campaign on Iran

Inside the High-Stakes U.S. Pressure Campaign on Iran

EXPERT INTERVIEW – U.S. officials say a second aircraft carrier will be deployed to the Middle East amid the administration’s efforts to pressure [...] More

Middle EastIran

Iran at the Breaking Point: How Afghanistan and Iraq Still Inform U.S. Strategy

Masoud Andarabi

Iran at the Breaking Point: How Afghanistan and Iraq Still Inform U.S. Strategy

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Iran is experiencing its most consequential period of internal unrest in years. Nationwide demonstrations driven by economic [...] More

IranMiddle EastExpert View

Iran’s Crumbling Revolutionary Facade: How Today’s Protests Could Reshape the Region in 2026

Paula Doyle

Iran’s Crumbling Revolutionary Facade: How Today’s Protests Could Reshape the Region in 2026

EXPERT OPINION — I am closely watching the growing size and momentum of protesters across Iran’s cities, rural areas, and pious communities who are [...] More

IranMiddle EastPaula Doyle

Iran’s Supreme Leader Should Listen to the People

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

Iran’s Supreme Leader Should Listen to the People

EXPERT OPINION — The Iranian people are saying they want new leadership. And it’s not too hard to understand why so many merchants, university [...] More

IranAmbassador Joseph DeTraniMiddle East