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Could Iran's Judiciary Chief Be the Next Supreme Leader?

As Israel's unprecedented military campaign and targeting of Iranian military leaders and scientists wreaked havoc across Iran last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei retreated to a bunker [...] More

Could Israeli Attacks Prompt Changes in Iranian Intelligence?

Iran’s intelligence services, particularly its Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS), must have been awestruck by Israel’s late-September airstrike on Hezbollah’s underground Beirut headquarters. The [...] More

More from Steven Ward

Why Iran’s Intelligence Minister Still Has His Job - After a Major Intelligence Failure

In the wake of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced last week that Esmail Khatib [...] More

What's Next for Iran?

The U.S. has decided to send additional troops to Saudi Arabia after an attack on an oil facility that seriously impacted the country's oil [...] More

An Intelligence Officer's Guide to Dissent

(Editor's note - Thursday, August 15 is the last day of work for Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and his Principal Deputy Director Susan [...] More
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Iran, Tankers and the Threat of Greater Destruction

New audio of the seizure of a British-flagged tanker indicates the vessel was too far away from help to avoid being forced to change course by [...] More

Iran's Next Surprise

When he became Secretary of Defense in early 2001, Donald Rumsfeld publicly expressed his concern about the inevitability of surprise. He often [...] More

Restoring Deterrence with Iran

Putting Iran in a desperate situation without viable alternatives is likely to result in desperate responses.Two oil tankers carrying [...] More

How an Escalation to War Could Happen with Iran

A series of events last week led to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. While tensions had seemed to ease somewhat on Friday, President [...] More
Iran in 2019: Cautiously Surviving

Iran in 2019: Cautiously Surviving

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear during remarks in Jordan on Tuesday that the U.S. is intent on putting more pressure on Iran in the new [...] More
Iran: Maximum Pressure and Perfect Storms

Iran: Maximum Pressure and Perfect Storms

Last spring, two weeks after the Trump Administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the international arms control [...] More