Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

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

Input clean

Iran

Realism and Rivals: McCloskey’s The Persian Rings True

Realism and Rivals: McCloskey’s The Persian Rings True

BOOK REVIEW: The Persian: A NovelBy David McCloskey/ W.W. NortonReviewed by: Joe ZacksThe Reviewer: Joe Zacks is the Co-founder and Managing Partner [...] More

The Latest

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

As Nukes Spread, Robust Missile Defenses Must Rise

OPINION — More countries aspire to be nuclear-weapons states, and we should prepare for this eventuality. That’s why the Golden Dome missile defense [...] More

Expert Q&A: What to Watch for at the Trump-Netanyahu Meeting

EXPERT Q&A — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington D.C. on Monday to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House — [...] More

Can President Trump Get a "Big, Beautiful" Deal in the Middle East?

Can President Trump Get a "Big, Beautiful" Deal in the Middle East?

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – When Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump meet at the White House Monday, they will bring different ideas for resolving two [...] More