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Trending Issues
April 22, 2025
12:00 pm
EVENT: FDD's Air and Missile Defense Program Launch
To help protect the United States and its allies from the rising threat of missile and drone attacks, FDD is excited to inaugurate its new Air and Missile Defense Program, housed within the Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).
Featured Experts
Mark Dubowitz
Chief Executive
- Iran Sanctions
- Iran Human Rights
- Syria
- Iran Missiles
- Iran
- Iran Global Threat Network
- Hezbollah
- Iran-backed Terrorism
- Sanctions and Illicit Finance
- Cyber
- Iran Nuclear
Behnam Ben Taleblu
Iran Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow
- Iran
- Iran Sanctions
- Iran Missiles
- Iran Human Rights
- Iran Politics and Economy
- Iran Global Threat Network
- Sanctions and Illicit Finance
Andrea Stricker
Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director and Research Fellow
Janatan Sayeh
Research Analyst
What they're saying
"Mr. Dubowitz’s campaign to draw attention to what he saw as the Iran nuclear deal's flaws has taken its place among the most consequential ever undertaken by a Washington think tank leader."
New York Times
“FDD is highly influential in the area of public policy … I would like to thank FDD for publishing numerous articles advocating for international support of Taiwan.”
Tsai Ing-wen
President of Taiwan
"Thank you to FDD…for the many, many years of great work that you’ve done. I've known the organization and relied on its expertise long before this conversation today."
Jessica Lewis
Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State
"I will tell you that FDD has been such a partner. Whether it is dealing with the Iran deal and the flaws that were in it, all the way to human shields and all the things that we need to do to combat it, you've been a partner in a time where we need partners. And so I appreciate that very much."
Amb. Nikki R. Haley
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations
“What FDD puts out [in] the national and international conversation, … you really are … a repository of knowledge on so many critical issues.”
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL)
"I’ve always tried to have a 'bias for action,' and I appreciate how the Center on Military and Political Power isn’t intended to be a group of luminaries sitting around admiring the problem set, but an organization actively working to promote understanding of the strategies, policies, and capabilities we need to maintain our vital national interests. That bias towards action speaks to me – so I appreciate the endeavor that’s underway here."
Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr.
Former Commander, U.S. Central Command
"The output generated today and every day at FDD is invaluable and inexplicably linked to the defense of our nation."
Hon. Ryan D. McCarthy
Acting Secretary, U.S. Army
"A record low for the reach of petrodollars: CIA & FDD fake news w/ selective AlQaeda docs re: Iran can't whitewash role of US allies in 9/11"
Javad Zarif
Iran's Foreign Minister
FDD's Long War Journal [is] the best source of public information on terrorism.
Michael Morell
former Acting and Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency
“I think what distinguishes FDD is that you publish not only insightful and thoughtful analysis, but your products are operational and they're actionable, and I can assure you that they're read throughout our government and we look forward to reading more.”
David Peyman
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions, U.S. Department of State
“I have long admired the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. I have long felt it’s very important the issues that are raised here, and I have long felt that when we talk about foreign policy, it has to be done on a bipartisan basis and we have to work very closely together across the aisle.”
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee
"We rely on a lot of the analysis that FDD does. It's enormously effective at what it does, deeply substantive, passionate about its work, all the sorts of things that you would want in a think tank."
Brian Hook
Special Representative for Iran, U.S. Department of State
“It is the efforts of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies that is dedicated to these issues day in and day out – your work every day makes a real difference in these battles that we wage.”
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)
“I love FDD. … I want to thank FDD for the work it's done over the years on so many critical issues. ... We have drawn heavily on the scholarship and analysis of FDD. … We need organizations like FDD to continue their scholarship on the threats that we face.”
LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster
Former National Security Advisor
“I am a proud alumnus of FDD’s National Security Fellows Program. FDD has really distinguished itself as a hub and a place where you really have invested in the next generation of national security leaders, and that's critical.”
Rep. Mike Gallagher
(R-WI-8), 2011 FDD National Security Fellow
"As FDD knows and has exposed very well, Iranian commercial airlines play a critical role in ferrying Qods Force operatives, weapons, equipment, and funds to international locations in furtherance of Iranian state-sponsored terror operations."
Sigal Mandelker
Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
“The intelligence community notes what FDD does and deeply appreciates it. Your scholarship shows connections between a whole bunch of nefarious actors out there – proliferators, sanctions-busters, and money-launderers. What it is you’re able to do with open sources complements and reinforces what goes on inside the intelligence community.”
Gen. Michael Hayden
Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency
“The Foundation is making a difference across the world.”
George W. Bush
Former President
Overnight Brief: June 16, 2025
Read Full BriefToday In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
- Today at 8:30am (ET): "FDD Morning Brief," FDD Event
- "Israel and Iran at War: Emergency SITREP," The Iran Breakdown
- "War Tour d’Horizon," FDD's Foreign Podicy
- "Elaborate ‘deception operation’ orchestrated by Trump and Israel’s Netanyahu to decapitate Iran’s leadership and cripple nuclear program," Daily Mail
- "Everything You Need to Know About the Iran Attack," The Free Press
- "Options for Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Organization," The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune
- "Israel’s Strike Changes Everything in Iran," The Wall Street Journal
- "Iran’s lies about its nuclear plans finally at an end," New York Post
- "China Wants Our Hearts. Literally." The Cipher Brief
- "The 9 Iranian Nuclear Scientists Israel Has Eliminated," FDD Insight
- "UNIFIL Was Intended to Be a Temporary Force, and It Has Now Outlived Its Utility," FDD Policy Brief
- "Israel May Need U.S. Help to Take Out Key Iranian Nuclear Site Before Disaster Strikes," FDD Policy Brief
- "A new chapter in Israel’s long war," Generation Jihad (by FDD's Long War Journal)
- "Israel targets Iran’s nuclear sites and senior military figures," FDD's Long War Journal
- "US adds Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Imam Ali to list of terror organizations," FDD's Long War Journal
- "Ukrainian intelligence details Russia’s new V2U autonomous loitering munition," FDD's Long War Journal
- "US strike in northwestern Syria kills Islamic State’s external attack planner," FDD's Long War Journal
- "IDF asserts control over areas of Gaza, returns hostage bodies," FDD's Long War Journal
- "Iran Appeals to Qatar, Oman to Revive Nuclear Talks," FDD Flash Brief
- "Israel’s Mossad Smuggled Drone Parts Ahead of ‘Operation Rising Lion’," FDD Flash Brief
- "Israel’s Air Defenses Stand Firm Under Iranian Fire," FDD Flash Brief
- "‘Hit Every Site and Every Target’: IDF Strikes Iran’s Critical Energy Sector," FDD Flash Brief
- "At Least Eight Dead, Dozens Injured After Iranian Missile Barrage on Israeli Civilians," FDD Flash Brief
- "Israel Confirms Mossad Teams Operating Inside Iran," FDD Flash Brief
- "‘From Western Iran To Tehran:’ Israel Claims Air Superiority Over Iranian Skies as it Braces For Further Retaliation," FDD Flash Brief
- "Iran Launches Dozens of Ballistic Missiles at Israel," FDD Flash Brief
- "‘Before There Is Nothing Left’: Trump Warns of Devastation in Iran if Nuclear Deal Not Reached as World Leaders Caution Against Escalation," FDD Flash Brief
- "At Least 20 High-Level Commanders, Nuclear Scientists Killed in Israeli Strikes on Iran," FDD Flash Brief
- "‘This Is Not Diplomacy, It Is Surrender’: UN General Assembly Demands Unconditional Ceasefire in Gaza," FDD Flash Brief
- "‘We Are Not Pausing for a Moment’: Israel Strikes Iranian Ballistic Missile Infrastructure," FDD Flash Brief
The Must-Reads
- Israel has struck a blow to Iran’s nuclear program—but it isn’t yet a knockout
- How Israel’s Mossad smuggled drone parts to attack Iran from within
- After sitting out the Iran attack, U.S. steps in to help Israel intercept missiles
- Iranian strikes kill at least 8 in Israel as conflict enters fourth day
- WSJ Editorial: Israel’s nuclear good deed against Iran
- Israel takes control of Iran’s skies—a feat that still eludes Russia in Ukraine
- Next round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iran is off
- WSJ Editorial: One Iranian miscalculation after another
- Former US national security adviser John Bolton: Iran’s Ayatollahs are weaker than ever
- Russia’s summer offensive in Ukraine gains ground with new tactics
- US aircraft carrier heads west from South China Sea amid Middle East tensions
- Trump called Canada the 51st state. Now the G-7 summit brings him to Alberta.