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Middle East

CHINA-RUSSIA-IRAN-DIPLOMACY

Moscow and Beijing’s shadow war: How Russia and China are keeping Iran lethal

The ceasefire between the United States and Iran is barely holding. Pakistani mediators are still shuttling between capitals, fighting has flared in [...] More

Middle EastIran

The Latest

U.S. And Israel Wage War Against Iran

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

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

Middle EastIran

A Declining Demand for Strategic Intelligence? U.S. and Israeli cases

Itai Shapira

A Declining Demand for Strategic Intelligence? U.S. and Israeli cases

Strategic intelligence, usually perceived as intelligence supporting the formulation of strategy, has always had limited influence over national [...] More

Itai ShapiraMiddle EastIsrael

Iran War Scorecard Looks Bad for America’s Strategic Interests

Beth Sanner

Iran War Scorecard Looks Bad for America’s Strategic Interests

While the war has yet to conclude, we have enough information to create a preliminary net assessment of its effects on U.S. security and prosperity. [...] More

Middle EastIranBeth Sanner

While the U.S. Focuses on Iran, Russia and China See Strategic Gain

Dave Pitts

While the U.S. Focuses on Iran, Russia and China See Strategic Gain

Russia and China are certainly concerned about the desperate state of Iran’s regime, an invaluable transactional partner to both countries. Yet they [...] More

Middle EastIranDave Pitts

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

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 wrong [...] More

Middle EastIran
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

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 wrong [...] More

Middle EastIran

Down But Not Out: Iran’s Axis of Resistance

Michele Kernitsky

Down But Not Out: Iran’s Axis of Resistance

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

Defining Victory in the Iran War

John McLaughlin

Defining Victory in the Iran War

OPINION — Two weeks ago, in the first hours of the war, I listed several possible scenarios for the outcome. No one can confidently know where this [...] More

Middle EastExpert View
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