Is America’s Balancing Act in the Gulf Sustainable?
Bottom Line: As the ongoing dispute between Qatar and Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates enters its eighth month, […] More
Iran
Putting the Squeeze on Iran via Hezbollah
From selling drugs to profiting from a pig farm, Lebanese Hezbollah’s hypocrisy knows no bounds – a political party with a military army that does […] More
Front-Row Seat to a CIA (Veteran) Briefing on Iran
Cipher Brief experts General (ret) Michael Hayden and former CIA senior officer Norman Roule have had many conversations on the subject of Iran and the […] More
Iraq Elections: With ISIS in Rearview, Iran Lies Ahead
Bottom Line: On paper, Iraq’s democratic electoral system promises rare, fair representation in a region where politics is dominated by monarchies and authoritarian regimes. But […] More
Tehran Can’t ‘Paint Over’ Latest Unrest
Cipher Brief expert Norman Roule – a former CIA Mideast hand and DNI Iran Mission Manager – calls the demonstrations in Iran possibly the most significant since […] More
White House Takes Names & Plots New Sanctions Over Iran Unrest
The Trump administration is watching the Iranian protests closely – in order to name, shame and eventually sanction those cracking down on protesters and limiting […] More
Tehran Can’t ‘Paint Over’ Latest Unrest
Cipher Brief expert Norman Roule – a former CIA Mideast hand and DNI Iran Mission Manager – calls the demonstrations in Iran possibly the most significant […] More
New Iran Protests Slam Joblessness – And Clerics
The Cipher Brief spoke with former DNI Iran Mission Manager and Cipher Brief expert Norman Roule about the worst demonstrations in Iran since 2009. The […] More
Friction Ahead: Tehran Faces Enemies Foreign & Domestic in 2018
For this last week of 2017, we asked our experts to look ahead at key national security issues. Intelligence veteran and Iran hand Norman Roule […] More
Looking Ahead on Jerusalem, and Beyond
For this last week of 2017, we asked our experts to look back on key topics for this year, and predict what they see for […] More
Iran’s “Kitten” Cyber Hackers Poised to Strike If Trump Shreds Nuke Deal
Tehran poses an increasing cyber threat to the U.S., in light of the Trump administration’s allegations that Iran is violating United Nations Security Council resolutions […] More
Cipher Brief Experts on Haley’s Iran Accusations
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley yesterday displayed an array of singed missile remnants and other parts that she said constituted “concrete” evidence […] More
The Iran Conundrum: Serious Containment Versus Stability
President Donald Trump put Iran on notice in October, declaring that the U.S. would counter the regime’s “destabilizing activity.” Iran isn’t listening. Instead, Iran is […] More
The Master of Chaos vs. the Iranian Nuclear Agreement
The two-month mark is fast approaching when Congress could reimpose sanctions on Iran, possibly giving leaders in Tehran the right to pull out of the […] More
The Ticking Time Bomb of Iran’s Proxy Industry
Saudi Arabia’s increasingly assertive moves against Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah have provoked understandable Western concern, particularly over the potential impact of these steps on Lebanon’s […] 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
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