Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

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

Input clean

Is Iran's 'Ring of Fire' Strategy Heating Up?

Is Iran's 'Ring of Fire' Strategy Heating Up?

TEHRAN, IRAN - OCTOBER 7: Iranians attend a gathering in Tehran to express their solidarity with Palestine after Hamas militants launched a deadly air, land and sea assault into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, in Tehran, Iran. A senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced support for a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, calling it a "proud operation". On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched the largest surprise attack from Gaza in a generation, sending thousands of missiles and an unknown number of fighters by land, who shot and kidnapped Israelis in communities near the Gaza border. The attack prompted retaliatory strikes on Gaza and a declaration of war by the Israeli prime minister. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – A second aid convoy arrived in Gaza as Israel continued striking targets in the region ahead of an expected ground operation in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks that killed more than 1,200 people inside Israel with more than 200 people believed to have been taken hostage.

President Joe Biden is urging Israel to delay ground operations as diplomatic efforts continue in a push to allow aid to reach those who need it inside Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his calls for the release of all hostages on NBC’s Meet the Press. Hamas released two U.S. hostages on Sunday and said they are prepared to release two more.  Blinken thanked the Government of Qatar for their help in securing the hostage’s release as 10 Americans remain missing.

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

Covering the Blaze the World Forgot

BOOK REVIEW: Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U.S. Marine Corps TragedyBy Chas Henry / Potomac BooksReviewed by: Bill HarlowThe Reviewer — [...] More

The Math Behind Trump's $1 Trillion Defense Budget

OPINION — “The President's FY ‘26 [Fiscal Year 2026] National Defense Budget requests $1.01 trillion, which is a 13 percent increase from FY '25 [...] More

The Downward Spiral of Western Counterintelligence

OPINION — Counterintelligence is one of the most vital functions of the intelligence community, helping protect against foreign threats. [...] More

An Urgent Call to Close the Loopholes on Chips and China

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION -- The core lessons from the Cold War should guide us as we face the new “Axis of Aggressors” today. First among these, [...] More

Report for Monday, June 30, 2025

8:29 America/Chicago Monday, June 30 [...] More

A Good NATO Summit, Though Russia Won a Round

EXPERT Q&A — NATO leaders convened in The Hague this week for a summit aiming to strengthen the alliance's defenses, with the ever encroaching threat [...] More

NATO Wins Will Have an Impact

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT Q&A — NATO leaders convened at The Hague this week and agreed to raise the alliance’s defense spending target to 5% GDP, marking [...] More

Dead Drop: June 27

THIS WEEK: SURPRISES, SECRETS AND SPY COCKTAILS: This week’s best collection of national security gossip is filled with surprises, secrets and a [...] More

NATO Lures Trump Back - at a Cost

NATO Lures Trump Back - at a Cost

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – The stakes at this week’s NATO summit were sky-high – support for Ukraine, a shoring up of Europe’s defenses, and the [...] More