One Month Into U.S. Campaign, Assessing Damage to the Houthis
EXPERT INTERVIEW— For the past month, the United States military has been carrying out its most robust campaign yet against the Houthi militia, which is […] More
Houthis
The Signal ‘Disaster,’ and Ensuring It Doesn’t Happen Again
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — When the heads of the intelligence community (IC) came to Capitol Hill Tuesday to present the Annual Threat Assessment, they were […] More
Intel Chiefs Detail Top Threats – and Get a Grilling Over Signal Leak
SPECIAL REPORT – The U.S. Intelligence Community’s (IC) annual assessment of threats facing the U.S. puts narcotics trafficking at the top of the list – […] More
Violence in Gaza, Yemen and Syria Tests Middle East – and the Trump Administration
EXPERT INTERVIEW – Just a few weeks ago, the Middle East seemed in a rare moment of relative calm: ceasefires were holding in Gaza and […] More
The Latest
Oman’s Double Game in Yemen Has Dangerous Consequences
OPINION — For more than three decades, Oman has served in the role of mediator for the resolution of disputes in Yemen. This began after north […] More
Iran, the Nuclear Program, and Trump 2.0
As the second Trump Administration took office, it found a Middle East landscape that had been transformed dramatically in the last year alone. Nowhere is […] More
8 Global Security Questions For 2025
SPECIAL REPORT — Given how unpredictable 2024 proved to be – did anyone foresee the fall of Bashar Al-Assad, the decapitation of Hezbollah, an invasion of […] More
The ‘New Middle East’ That Awaits Donald Trump
EXPERT INTERVIEW — Less than two months before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th U.S. president, the headlines from the Middle East are […] More
Iran’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Is In Trouble. What Comes Next?
DEEP DIVE — It may be the most consequential change to the Middle East since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks against Israel, and the wars […] More
How Trump’s Win Alters the Landscape in the Middle East
DEEP DIVE — The Middle East has changed dramatically since President Donald Trump left office in 2021. An always-tense part of the world has seen an […] More
Militant Islam is Under Attack – But Its Root Causes Endure
OPINION — As the Israeli assault on Gaza passes the 13-month mark, and as Hezbollah reels under the massive Israeli bombing campaign on its leaders […] More
The Houthis are Deeply Unpopular in Yemen – and That’s An Opportunity
OPINION — It has been widely acknowledged that the Houthi attacks against Israel and international shipping that followed Hamas’s deadly October 7th attacks last year, were used to defuse […] More
The Houthis are winning with Iran’s help. Here’s what we should do.
This piece by Cipher Brief Expert VADM Kevin ‘Kid’ Donegan (Ret.) was first published by our friends at The Middle East Institute. OPINION — Despite being battered, […] More
What the U.S. Military’s ‘Overwhelming Force’ Means for the Middle East
DEEP DIVE — As the war in Gaza rages, ceasefire talks founder, and the world waits for – and worries about – an Iranian retaliation for […] More
Israel’s War Against Hamas, Six Months Later
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS — No one could have imagined the horror that unfolded in the early hours of October 7, across a small stretch of southern […] More
Exclusive Interview: Former Navy Commander on How To Stop the Houthis
SUBSCRIBER+ INTERVIEW — Almost from the first volley fired last fall by Houthi rebels at vessels in the Red Sea, the group has surprised observers […] More
Houthi Red Sea Attacks and the Impact on the Global Order
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – For months, Yemen’s Houthis have been launching repeated missile and drone attacks againstcommercial and military ships in the southern Red Sea and […] More
As Houthi Attacks Continue, Calls for a New Approach
OPINION – “They [the Houthis] don’t have to do much to win. It’s a very low bar. They just have to continue attacking, however small. […] More
The Houthi Regime is an Integrated Propaganda Machine
OPINION — In the first three years after the Houthis’ 2014 takeover of Yemen’s capital, the de facto government in Sanaa was staffed by a […] More