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January 7, 2026 Iran’s New IRGC Deputy Chief Is Responsible for American, Iranian, and Israeli Deaths Ahmad Vahidi, a veteran of the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was named its deputy commander on December 31, 2025, by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The IRGC was established in 1979... December 24, 2025 Eight Things to Know About Christians in China The latest wave of religious repression in China represents the most aggressive internal clampdowns in years. Catholic bishops appointed by the Vatican have been disappeared, despite a deal allegedly giving... December 22, 2025 A Half-Year After Operation Rising Lion, Iran’s Ballistic Missile Threat Re-Emerges Six months after Operation Rising Lion, Iran’s ballistic missile threat to Israel is once again intensifying. While Israel, with decisive U.S. support, dealt a severe blow to Iran’s nuclear program... December 19, 2025 Beyond the U.S.-Israel MOU: The Case for a Strategic Partnership Agreement In one’s personal life and in the life of a nation, it is good to have friends. It is even better to have capable and motivated friends, especially when one confronts increasingly formidable enemies... December 18, 2025 The Gaslighting Masterclass Happening Now In Doha A masterclass in gaslighting is being given in Doha right now. Qatar is hosting the Conference of State Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption from December 15 through 19. It’s... December 11, 2025 From ‘Victory Only’ to Checkmate: Sudan’s Islamists Face Global Rejection The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait — has formally endorsed the U.S.-led vision for ending Sudan’s devastating... December 10, 2025 8 Reasons Why the U.S. Must Maintain a Ban on Iran’s Uranium Enrichment and Plutonium Reprocessing The United States and the international community have spent decades trying to restrict Iran’s uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing capabilities given the regime’s threats against the West... December 8, 2025 Al Jazeera’s Academic Arm Platforms Hamas Denialism and Anti-Israel Propaganda Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, the research arm of Qatar’s state-backed media giant, co-hosted an academic conference last week in Qatar’s Education City that whitewashed Hamas’s October 7, 2023,... November 25, 2025 To Build Leverage for Peace, Enforce Oil Sanctions on Russia American and Ukrainian officials spent the weekend in Geneva revising a peace plan that initially tilted heavily in Russia’s favor. The real challenge now is getting the Kremlin to accept terms that... November 24, 2025 Washington Finally Takes on the Muslim Brotherhood After weeks of hinting that a major policy shift was imminent, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on November 24 directing the State and Treasury Departments to begin the process of... November 17, 2025 Does Al Jazeera Collaborate With Hamas? Al Jazeera’s leadership shake-up has been in the headlines. Will its new executives direct the Qatari state-funded media arm to cease its cozy relationship with Hamas? Allegations have been swirling... October 24, 2025 Sudan’s Burhan Agrees to Peace Talks, His Hardline Stance Threatens Stalemate After months of rejecting peace talks with his rivals and insisting that only his victory would end Sudan’s civil war, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Commander Abdul-Fattah al-Burhan succumbed to international... October 21, 2025 5 Ways the United States and Europe Must Help Ukraine Now Despite daily barrages of missiles and drones, Ukrainian society remains resilient. Although it is unlikely to recapture its lost territory, the Ukrainian military is well-positioned to continue preventing... October 14, 2025 5 Ways the U.S. Should Retain and Upgrade America’s Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Congress would be smart to ensure the survival and reform of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) – America’s development bank that invests in private sector projects in developing... October 1, 2025 8 UN Failures in Yemen The United Nations has been active in Yemen for a decade, yet the country remains one of the poorest places on Earth. The country is at war with itself and home to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who kidnap... September 25, 2025 5 Recent Instances of Foreign Malign Influence Threatening U.S. National Security America is letting its adversaries win the information war. The latest blow to U.S. efforts to fight this war came in August, when the U.S. intelligence community learned of the reduction in size and reorganization... September 22, 2025 A Surge in Islamism Widens Rift Between Sudanese Army and Its Regional Allies A surge in radical Islamism in Sudan has strained ties between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its regional allies, especially Egypt. These tensions have prompted the allies to distance themselves... September 22, 2025 From Parade to Battlefield: LiDAR at the Core of China’s Military Modernization On September 3, 2025, Beijing staged its largest-ever Victory Day parade, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping presided alongside... September 18, 2025 British and French Recognition of Palestine Will Reward Terrorism, Endanger European Security British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron are reportedly poised to recognize Palestine as a state within the coming days. If they do so, they will regrettably... September 15, 2025 New ICC-Related Sanctions Present Increased Risk for South Africa’s ICJ Campaigners The lawfare campaign against Israel hit a snag. On September 4, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for having “directly engaged in” International... September 12, 2025 The Fine Print of the Famine Declaration in Gaza The experts have officially declared there is a famine in Gaza. But what exactly counts as a famine? And who judges if the standard has been met? As world leaders stream into New York City this month to... September 11, 2025 Iran May Be Funding K-12 Education in America It took years of research and advocacy before education leaders realized that foreign funding in education can have negative consequences. China’s Confucius Institutes were among the first examples of... September 8, 2025 Why Export Controls Work: 5 Debunked Myths About U.S.-China AI Competition America’s artificial intelligence (AI) edge faces a determined challenger: Chinese leader Xi Jinping... September 4, 2025 10 Takeaways From Simulated Attacks on Taiwan’s Energy Sector China seeks not just to intimidate Taiwan, but to methodically erode its sovereignty — using coercive tools short of war to compel submission without firing a shot. FDD experts facilitated a two-day... August 28, 2025 5 Urgent Tasks for the New National Cyber Director The new chief of U.S. cyber policymaking, Sean Cairncross, brings to the table extensive experience gained as a former adviser to the White House chief of staff and CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation,... August 13, 2025 Sudan’s Democratic Alliance Blames Islamists for Civil War Secular forces in Sudan are calling for Sudan’s Islamist movement to be classified as a terrorist group. This is happening as Congress considers legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist... August 7, 2025 Trump should not let Putin keep ‘tapping us along’ Ahead of the August 8 deadline President Donald Trump gave Russia to accept a ceasefire or face economic punishment, the administration has sent mixed signals on whether he will follow through. For too... August 5, 2025 7 UN Organizations That Undermine Israel and the U.S. The Trump administration announced on July 22 its departure from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the end of 2026. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce... August 1, 2025 10 Iranian Jails the Regime Uses To Brutalize Political Prisoners Iran routinely detains and imprisons citizens who publicly question the regime. The suffering of these political prisoners is immense: Inmates have reported pervasive sexual assault, beatings, sleep deprivation,... July 25, 2025 5 Ways to Break China’s Chokehold on Battery Supply Chains The United States must fight back against China’s dangerous dominance of the battery industry. Batteries are critical to countless items necessary for daily life, from power tools to power grids, as well as important military equipment, like drones, night-vision goggles, and lasers. However, China has the capability to simply cut off U.S. access to critical batteries because it monopolizes each step of the production process. ... July 25, 2025 From Oil to Oman: 10 Ways to Economically Cripple Iran’s War Machine Now is the perfect time to tighten the financial thumbscrews on Iran. The clerical regime has been significantly weakened by the unprecedented Israeli and U.S. military attacks on the Islamic Republic... July 15, 2025 Can the U.S. Arm Itself and Ukraine? Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States will continue arming Ukraine through a deal with NATO, whereby European allies will pay for American-made weapons to be delivered to Kyiv. That... July 13, 2025 Reckoning Needed Between Terror-Sponsoring Qatar and United States The emirate of Qatar continues to play an outsized role in the diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza. Over the weekend, these efforts once again failed to end the crisis and release the remaining 50... July 3, 2025 Iranian and Pro-Regime Cyberattacks Against Americans (2011-Present) Since 2011, the Islamic Republic of Iran and pro-regime hackers have increasingly utilized digital technology to threaten U.S. national security, conducting dozens of cyber operations against Americans.... July 3, 2025 5 Things to Know About China-Iran Security Cooperation China and Iran both seek to counter American influence in the Middle East and have long cooperated to further that shared goal. China provides Iran with inputs for its ballistic missile program, helps... June 27, 2025 5 More Pillars of Iran’s Repressive Regime Targeted by Israel Israel has turned key components of Iran’s tyrannical regime into rubble. In solidarity with the Iranian people who have long endured the regime’s brutality, the first wave of Israeli strikes from... June 20, 2025 8 Things to Know About China’s Response to Israel-Iran Conflict Israel’s military campaign against Iran has exposed the chasm between China’s great power rhetoric and its ability to meaningfully shape events in the Middle East. To be sure, Beijing backs Tehran... June 19, 2025 5 Oppressive Iranian Institutions Israel has Targeted As Israel degrades the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military capabilities, the campaign has also targeted key pillars of repression in the country. Among them are senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps... June 19, 2025 Iranian and Iranian-Backed Attacks Against Americans (1979-Present) Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the clerical regime in Tehran and its proxies have committed a range of attacks against Americans. This memorandum provides select documentation of these assaults. While... June 18, 2025 10 Things to Know About Tehran’s Propaganda Network, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Israel struck the Tehran headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on June 16, damaging a key regime media organ. IRIB is far from an independent news channel. Rather, it is a tool... June 14, 2025 The 9 Iranian Nuclear Scientists Israel Has Eliminated By Bridget Toomey and Andrea Stricker To stop Iran’s drive to build nuclear weapons, Israel eliminated nine top scientists and experts whose knowledge was critical to Tehran’s initiative. Israel... June 9, 2025 10 Things to Know About the Muslim Brotherhood The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist movement dedicated to the remaking of society and government according to the dictates of Islamic law, or sharia. Founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna,... May 21, 2025 9 Myths About Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Program President Trump and his administration have demanded that Iran agree to the full, verifiable, and permanent dismantlement of its atomic weapons program — including the regime’s ability to produce enriched... May 20, 2025 5 Ways South Africa Undermines U.S. Interests — and What Must Change The United States must increase pressure on South Africa to reverse five of its harmful policies. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s arrival in Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump offers... May 15, 2025 10 Reasons Why America Needs a Cyber Force 1. The next war the United States fights will begin in cyberspace. Cyberattacks will almost certainly be used by an adversary in the opening phases of a crisis or conflict to target the U.S. homeland... May 2, 2025 What the U.S. Can Learn from Israel’s ‘Qatargate’ Affair White House Correspondents’ season just wrapped in Washington. Last weekend, celebrities, journalists, and politicians descended on Washington to celebrate the free press. Traditionally, the weekend... May 1, 2025 Pro-Hamas Activists Tell Teachers to Break the Law and Strike on May Day Pro-Hamas activists are telling teachers to break the law. Labor for Palestine, a coalition of union groups, is calling on teachers to walk out on May Day. This is not a lone incident but rather part of... April 29, 2025 5 Wasteful and Harmful UN Organizations That Delegitimize Israel As the Trump administration undertakes a review of U.S. support for the United Nations, it should defund and seek the elimination of five UN organizations that exist primarily to delegitimize Israel. Toward... April 17, 2025 Time to Reform VOA and Its Iran Programming: Trim the Fat, Keep the Mission The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate funding for Voice of America (VOA) represents a missed opportunity to reform and enhance the outlet’s capacity to counter adversarial propaganda. April 11, 2025 What President Trump Must Demand to Eliminate Iran’s Nuclear Threat The United States and Iran are set to hold landmark talks on April 12, President Donald Trump announced earlier in the week, just weeks after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused the...

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