Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

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

Input clean

Iran

The Two-Front Nuclear Crisis: Iran, North Korea, and a New Era of U.S. Deterrence

The Two-Front Nuclear Crisis: Iran, North Korea, and a New Era of U.S. Deterrence

DEEP DIVE — While Washington is focused on Iran’s accelerating uranium-enrichment program and increasingly aggressive regional posture, an equally [...] More

The Latest

Eighty Years On, Can the UN Meet Its Mission?

OPINION — The 80th ordinary session of the United Nations ended on September 8, 2026. During this year, the UN will have an opportunity to help [...] More

Seizing a 21st Century Cognitive Advantage

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — In 1943, a body washed up on a beach in Huelva, Spain. It was the body of a Royal Marine officer, Major William Martin. Martin [...] More

Witness to a Sea Change in the Middle East: Jack Keane Says Israel Has a Window to Break Iran’s Proxies

Witness to a Sea Change in the Middle East: Jack Keane Says Israel Has a Window to Break Iran’s Proxies

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – The White House rolled out a 20-point plan on Monday calling for a permanent truce in Israel's war against Hamas that calls for [...] More

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) speaks during a press conference after arriving at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran on September 27, 2025

Defiance Meets Desperation as Iran Faces Fresh UN Sanctions

EXPERT INTERVIEW – The United Nations has reimposed sweeping economic and military sanctions on Iran, ten years after lifting them under the 2015 [...] More

Rising Lion Shows the U.S. Needs More Allies Like Israel

OPINION — Israel’s Operation Rising Lion will go down as among the most impressive military campaigns in history. Military academies, military [...] More

Ex-NATO Commander Warns Western Inaction Built “Sanctuary” for Russia

EXPERT Q&A — Russia’s massive drone attack overnight on six Ukrainian regions, which hit energy and gas transport infrastructure and cut off power to [...] More

Spy Versus Spy: Iran’s Playbook for Espionage in Israel

OPINION — Israel’s intelligence penetration of Iran played out in dramatic form over the course of the 12-day war this summer, but Iran is running an [...] More

​The Weekend Interview: Former CIA Station Chief on Strategic Global Hotspots

​The Weekend Interview: Former CIA Station Chief on Strategic Global Hotspots

WEEKEND INTERVIEW: The signing of a peace framework between the President of Armenia and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan on Friday at the White [...] More

The Middle East is Reshuffling the Deck. Is the U.S. Ready to Play a New Hand?

The Middle East is Reshuffling the Deck. Is the U.S. Ready to Play a New Hand?

EXPERT INTERVIEW – The past year has brought a whirlwind of dramatic developments in the Middle East, reshaping long-held assumptions about the [...] More

Guanxi-Warfare: How the U.S. Can Exploit China’s Disposable Alliances

OPINION — China’s reaction to the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear capabilities confirms Beijing’s view of Iran as an expendable appendage of its [...] More

Regime Change in Iran: Complexities and Limits

OPINION — Iran and Israel have been at odds since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, when the new Islamic Republic declared Israel to be illegitimate [...] More

Operation Midnight and the President's War Powers

OPINION — At the direction of President Donald Trump, U.S. armed forces conducted an attack against Iran, Operation Midnight Hammer. The President’s [...] More