Can Esmail Qaani Lead Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force?
Bottom Line Up Front The operations of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) will continue unabated despite the death of its […] More
Middle East
Questions to be asking about Iran and Iraq
John McLaughlin served as the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2000-2004 and served as Acting Director of the CIA in 2004. He […] More
The Promise and Perils of the Iranian Protests
Bottom Line Up Front Iran has experienced intermittent periods of unrest in the decades since its Islamic Revolution of 1979, but the situation unfolding […] More
What Made Sultan Qaboos the Best Friend Americans Never Knew
Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman and the Middle East’s longest serving ruler, died on January 10 after nearly 50 years in power. […] More
Soleimani and the True Measure of Deterrence
CONVERSATION STARTER — Few would argue that the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian General and Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani was a […] More
Soleimani and the Path to a new Middle East Peace Deal
Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. Nakhleh is currently […] More
The Iranian Threat to the U.S. Homeland
Bottom Line Up Front Following the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani and the Iranian response that targeted Iraqi bases, the possibility of a conventional […] More
The Pensacola Shooting: When Trust Among Allies Fails
The U.S. is considering whether it will expel more than a dozen Saudi Arabian military students after a shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, […] More
All Eyes On Iran
OPINION — As 2019 drew to a close, while foreign adversary leaders such as President Putin, President Xi, and Chairman Kim often attracted the largest […] More
The Danger of Terrorist Retaliation
Since his death at the hands of a US drone strike in Baghdad last week, much has been said about Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and […] More
What Happens Next with the Tensions Between Iran and the United States?
Bottom Line Up Front Iran responded to the death of IRGC-QF Major General Qassim Soleimani by launching nearly two dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi […] More
The United States and Iran Continue Tit-for-Tat Escalation in Iraq
Bottom Line Up Front Less than 24 hours after the United States killed IRGC-QF General Qassem Soleimani, the United States Department of State designated […] More
Soleimani Killing Cripples U.S. Position in Iraq
Bottom Line Up Front A key Iranian response to the U.S. strike that killed Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani will be to try to […] More
What’s Next for Iran?
The killing of Iranian Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani has drawn sharp condemnation from Iran. American politicians – while agreeing that Soleimani was a threat […] More
Avenging the Death of Qassem Soleimani
The U.S. targeting and killing of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani by a drone strike in Baghdad on Friday has prompted a series of […] More
U.S. Kills Qassem Soleimani in Major Escalation of Conflict with Iran
Bottom Line Up Front A U.S. strike that killed the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, IRGC Major General Qassem Soleimani, […] More
U.S.-Iran Tensions Erupt in Iraq
Bottom Line Up Front The December 29 U.S. strike on the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah (KAH) militia in Iraq represented the first kinetic U.S. response […] More
Iran Prevailing in Iraq and Lebanon
Bottom Line up Front Iran is pursuing a variety of methods in an effort to preserve its influence in Iraq and Lebanon in the […] More