How Recognizing Jerusalem Could Jettison – or Jumpstart – Peace Talks
The decision by President Donald Trump to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could give the U.S. added leverage to demand difficult concessions from the […] More
Middle East
Pandith: Trump’s Move a Gift to Extremists
President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel Wednesday, prompting approval from Israel, and a building rumble of protest across the Arab […] More
Network Take: Trump to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
The Cipher Brief reached out to network experts retired Amb. James Jeffrey and CIA veterans John Bennett and Emile Nakhleh for their thoughts on the […] More
Trump Administration to Assad & Moscow: You’re Not Winning
The Trump administration wants you to know that Syrian strongman Bashar Assad isn’t doing as well as he, or his Russian and Iranian allies want […] More
Network Take: Death of a Gulf Strongman
Cipher Brief experts and CIA veterans Norman Roule, Emile Nakhleh and Rob Richer, together with former U.S. Amb. to Yemen Steven Seche, weighed in Monday […] More
View: Washington Is Outsourcing the Qatar Crisis
The Trump administration is outsourcing the Qatar crisis to Kuwait, banking on the Kuwaiti monarch to bring the months-long crisis to a close. But ahead […] More
Why are Iran’s Hardliners Threatening Europe?
Europe has been on the forefront of defending the Iran Deal, better known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from unraveling under the […] More
UAE’s Share of the Task Fighting al Qaeda in Yemen
The U.S. and its Gulf allies have clawed back Yemeni territory from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has exploited the Yemeni conflict […] More
How Egypt’s Policies Are Driving Support for ISIS in the Sinai
The Friday prayer massacre of more than 300 worshipers at a Sinai was a departure for the local Islamic State affiliate in scale, but not […] More
How Cyber Gray-Ops Became the New Norm in the Middle East
Cyber-enabled information operations in the Gulf, such as the one that seemingly spurred the ongoing feud between Qatar and its neighbors, represent the gray line […] More
Egypt Struggles to Suppress ISIS in the Sinai
Friday’s deadly terrorist attack at the Al-Rawda mosque in the north of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula demonstrates that the so-called Islamic State’s Sinai affiliate remains a […] More
Devastating Sinai Attack Points to ISIS
On Friday, militants carried out a devastating attack at a mosque in the city of Bir al-Abed located in Egypt’s northern Sinai province, leaving at […] More
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Game of Thrones’ In Lebanon
The sudden resignation of Saad Hariri as Lebanon’s prime minister during his trip to Riyadh earlier this month raised suspicions about whether Saudi Arabia facilitated […] More
Saudi “Purge” a Re-Branding Attempt to Launch a “Second Kingdom”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) took the unprecedented step of ordering the arrest of 11 princes, dozens of former ministers and business officials, […] More
How to Weigh the Worth of the Iran Nuclear Deal
The mid-December deadline for Congress to determine whether to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions on Iran is rapidly approaching – with uncertain progress. Enacting these additional sanctions […] More
Putin Scores Win in U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced their commitment to defeating the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, in Syria and agreed […] More
Iraq’s Real Challenge: A Constitution with a Birth Defect
The Sept. 25 Kurdish referendum has risked permanent damage to the relationship between the Kurdish Regional Government and the Iraqi government (GOI), but the blame […] More
Who Benefits? A Closer Look at U.S.-Russia Talks on Syria
The U.S. and Russia could soon come to an agreement on next steps in Syria, as the Islamic State, or ISIS, nears defeat in the […] More