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June 2, 2023 Top U.S. Lawmakers Want Action Against Lebanon’s Corrupt Central Bank Chief The chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter on Tuesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the administration to “support independent, international... May 25, 2023 Russia and Partners Block Condemnation of Chemical Weapons Treaty Violations The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held its fifth review conference last week to assess implementation of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and set priorities... May 24, 2023 Xi Doubles Down on Ideological Indoctrination at the Expense of China’s Economic Recovery In several speeches and policy pronouncements this spring, Chinese leader Xi Jinping outlined plans for a sweeping indoctrination drive aimed at tightening his hold on power. Xi’s declarations re-affirm... May 18, 2023 Treasury’s Sanctions Strike at Key Russian Ransomware Figure The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday sanctioned Mikhail Matveev, a key figure in the Russian cybercrime world. In conjunction with a newly unsealed federal indictment of Mateev and a $10 million... May 16, 2023 Iran’s Inflationary Quagmire: Economic Challenges and Potential Instability Iran’s inflation rate in the previous Persian year (March 2022-March 2023) reached an unsettling 45.8 percent, the state-run Statistical Center of Iran reported this week. The country’s economic plight,... May 12, 2023 UK Sends Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine Even Though U.S. Refused British Defence Secretary Benjamin Wallace announced yesterday that London has sent Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. By leading where Washington would not, the United Kingdom has provided Kyiv with a... May 9, 2023 Jordan Carries Out Rare Strike in Syria Against the Assad-Backed Narco-Trade Jordan carried out airstrikes in southern Syria on Monday morning targeting a prominent drug lord and a narcotics factory in nearby Daraa province. Jordanian airstrikes in Syria are extremely rare and... May 8, 2023 Erdogan Threatens to Discard Election Results With elections just six days away and the polls showing a neck-and-neck race between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Erdogan is threatening to block a transition... May 3, 2023 Iran’s Meaningless Concession Ahead of Key Nuclear Meeting Iran has begun reinstalling surveillance cameras and monitoring technologies at key nuclear sites ahead of a June International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting, according to a reporter for The Wall... April 28, 2023 Washington Declaration Shores Up U.S. Security Commitments to South Korea The United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) released a statement they called the Washington Declaration on Wednesday during the state visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to the White House.... April 26, 2023 New European Sanctions Target Assad Regime Narco-Traffickers The European Union (EU) announced sanctions this week on over a dozen Syrian individuals and entities responsible for “the production and trafficking of narcotics, notably Captagon.” The designations... April 26, 2023 Upcoming Paraguayan Election a Bellwether for Taiwan’s International Standing The outcome of this month’s hotly contested Paraguayan election will likely determine whether Asuncion maintains diplomatic relations with Taipei or switches recognition to Beijing, a move that would... April 24, 2023 Eyeing Congress, Biden Administration Approves Possible F-16 Equipment Sale to Turkey The Biden administration announced on April 17 its approval of a possible foreign military sale to Turkey to support Ankara’s existing F-16 fighter jet fleet, totaling an estimated $259 million. Washington’s... April 24, 2023 Morningstar Blacklist May Violate State Anti-BDS Laws The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) this week reported that Sustainalytics — the environmental, social, governance (ESG) ratings arm of Morningstar, Inc. — imposes negative “controversy” ratings on... April 18, 2023 G7 Members Announce Plan to Reduce Nuclear Fuel Dependence on Russia The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Japan announced a new initiative on Sunday to replace Russian nuclear fuels and further reduce “reliance on Russia in the nuclear fuel supply chain... April 17, 2023 U.S. Sanctions Turkish Entities for Aiding Russian War Effort The United States and United Kingdom imposed sanctions Wednesday on three Turkish targets as part of the West’s continued effort to “cut off more of the international assets and finance channels still... April 13, 2023 All Eyes on the Iranian Regime as ‘Quds Day’ Dawns in the Middle East Israel has deployed thousands of officers in Jerusalem and in the vicinity of the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of this Friday’s “Quds Day,” a yearly event manufactured by the... March 29, 2023 Under Pressure from Congress, Administration Sanctions Syrian Narco-traffickers The Treasury Department announced sanctions on Tuesday on eight targets for “supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the production or export of Captagon, a dangerous amphetamine.”... March 28, 2023 U.S. Should Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine The top Republicans on the House and Senate foreign affairs and armed services committees sent a letter to President Joe Biden last week urging him to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, specifically... March 24, 2023 Top General Suggests Administration Would Tolerate Iran Having Nuclear Weapons The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley, said at a congressional hearing on Thursday that the United States “remains committed, as a matter of policy, that Iran will not have... March 21, 2023 Washington Steps Up Anti-Ransomware Efforts, Again The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a new pilot program last week to warn critical infrastructure operators about vulnerabilities in their systems that ransomware actors... March 13, 2023 TSA’s Cybersecurity Requirements Prepare for Takeoff The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued fresh cybersecurity requirements last Tuesday for airports and aircraft operators. The announcement seeks to implement the Biden administration’s... March 13, 2023 Russia Is Fueling China’s Nuclear Weapons Expansion A senior Department of Defense official on Wednesday confirmed media reports that Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company, provided China with nuclear fuel for a key reactor that will enable... March 2, 2023 In Iran, Rising Demand and Falling Supply of Hard Currency Drive Rial to Record Lows The value of Iran’s rial hit a historic low last week, likely spelling further discontent and civil unrest in the coming months. The trend of massive depreciation since nationwide protests began last... March 2, 2023 U.S., Allies Should Swiftly Penalize China for Supporting Russia’s War Against Ukraine China is allegedly considering supplying Russia with lethal military assistance, including Shahed-like suicide drones and artillery ammunition. This assistance could have a significant impact on the battlefield... March 1, 2023 Cyberspace Domain Operations Rely on the Cyber Workforce to Succeed The Department of Defense (DOD) released an update last week to its plan to provide flexible role-specific training for its cyber workforce. This effort continues DOD’s successful approach to cyber workforce... February 24, 2023 UN General Assembly votes 141-7 for Russian Forces to Withdraw from Ukraine With an overwhelming vote of 141 in favor, seven opposed, and 32 abstentions, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly demanded on Thursday that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw... February 22, 2023 Delaying Turkey’s Elections is Unconstitutional Under fire for his lackluster response to a massive earthquake on February 6, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is considering whether to delay presidential and parliamentary elections that, according to Turkish... February 14, 2023 Biden’s Earthquake Relief Policy Opens Door Wide to Syria Sanctions Evasion The Treasury Department issued a new general license on Thursday evening that authorizes broad new categories of individuals and organizations that can send aid to Syria, provided its purpose is earthquake... February 14, 2023 Cyber Sanctions Are Nice; Digital Takedowns Are Better The U.S. Treasury Department and several UK agencies announced sanctions on Thursday against seven members of a Russia-based cybercriminal group known as Trickbot. While these sanctions — the first UK... February 9, 2023 Why Cybersecurity Decision-making Needs Better Statistics The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last month concluding that the lack of centralized, standardized, uniform data on cyberattacks “stymies public policy debates and action.”... February 8, 2023 U.S. and Allies Should Target Top Iranian Executives The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions last Friday on the board of directors of Paravar Pars, an Iran-based manufacturer of military drones. Designating board members and top executives, not just the company... February 3, 2023 U.S. Demands More Sanctions Enforcement From Turkey The U.S. government will warn Turkey that it risks losing access to key markets if it does not implement U.S. sanctions, especially those that target Russian and Iranian entities. The warning reflects Washington’s... January 27, 2023 Ukraine Must Build on Anti-Corruption Firings With Further Reform President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired a spate of senior Ukrainian officials this week after promising to crack down on corruption amid public anger over graft scandals. With these purges, Zelenskyy seeks... January 25, 2023 To Fight the Rial’s Plunge, Tehran Resorts to Tactics that Failed Before The Iranian rial fell to its lowest value in the country’s history this week, trading at 449,000 to the dollar in the unregulated market. This marks a setback for Iran’s new central bank chief, Mohammad... January 23, 2023 Congress Questions Biden Plan to Sell F-16s to Turkey The Biden administration informally notified Congress of its intention to sell 40 new F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, along with 79 upgrade kits to modernize the Turkish Air Force’s existing F-16 fleet.... January 10, 2023 U.S. Should Sanction Tehran’s New Central Banker Iran’s government appointed Mohammad Reza Farzin as the new governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in late December as the country’s national currency, the rial, plummeted against the U.S. dollar.... January 10, 2023 U.S. and Turkey Take Joint Action to Disrupt ISIS Financing The U.S. Treasury and its Turkish counterpart, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, took joint action yesterday to designate four individuals and two entities tied to the Islamic State (ISIS) for enabling... January 4, 2023 Impending COVID Surge Expected to Tarnish Xi Jinping’s Image at Home China’s COVID-19 crisis will worsen further as tens of millions travel from the country’s largest cities to their hometowns in the rural interior during this month’s Lunar New Year celebration. Chinese... January 3, 2023 Top Turkish Court Upholds Spurious Conviction of Erdogan Critic A top court in Turkey upheld the conviction of philanthropist and human rights activist Osman Kavala on spurious charges that include attempting to overthrow the government. Kavala’s conviction underscores... December 21, 2022 U.S.-Israel Cyber Exercise Is a Successful Model to Build Upon The United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) partnered with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Joint Cyber Defense Division earlier this month to conduct a five-day cyber defense simulation aimed at fostering... December 16, 2022 Key Flaws Hamstring Russia Oil Price Cap The G7, European Union (EU), and Australia formally adopted a mechanism to “cap” the price of Russian oil exports earlier this month, aimed at squeezing the Kremlin’s coffers while avoiding a spike... December 7, 2022 U.S.-French Commitment to Secure Space Assets Shines a Light on Cyber Vulnerability In a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Joe Biden committed on Thursday to strengthening the cybersecurity of commercial space systems. The vulnerability of these systems stems... December 7, 2022 How Biden, Congress can stop the UN from legitimizing antisemitism United Nations officials urged countries in October and November to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, the global benchmark for identifying... December 6, 2022 Biden Must Act to Prevent a Turkish Attack on US Partners in Northern Syria Following a barrage of air strikes against Kurdish targets in northern Syria, the Turkish government has vowed to follow up with a ground campaign against the Syrian-Kurdish People’s Protection Units... November 22, 2022 No Room for Half-Measures in Aviation Cybersecurity A Boeing-owned subsidiary, Jeppesen, confirmed in early November that a cyber incident had impacted flight planning and communication software, causing flight delays for airlines using their services. In... November 18, 2022 IAEA Board Votes to Censure Iran, but Accountability Requires a Snapback of UN Sanctions On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors voted to censure Iran for prolonged non-compliance with Tehran’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty... November 17, 2022 Wary of China, Israel Toughens Screening of Foreign Investments The Israeli Cabinet’s National Security Affairs Committee approved a resolution on October 12 to establish a more rigorous oversight mechanism to prevent foreign investments that pose national security... November 15, 2022 Cyber Insurance Settlements Leave Big Questions Unresolved Major snack distributor Mondelez reached a settlement this month with its insurer, Zurich, after a five-year legal battle over whether the insurance company would cover losses Mondelez suffered from the... November 14, 2022 Lawmakers Urge More Action to Ensure Resilience of the U.S. Economy Two Republican lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden earlier this month expressing concern about the “limited action” the administration has taken to create plans to ensure the Continuity of...

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