Iraq’s bake sale for the Islamic Republic
Iran, under financial isolation, is turning to an old friend: Iraqi cash. Through informal financial channels and networks, currency-filled envelopes are moving across Iraq into Iran under...
Gulf States
FDD Analysis
UK Convenes Meeting on Reopening Strait of Hormuz as Trump Reiterates Warning to Iran in National Address
UK Hosts Meeting of 41 Countries on Hormuz: The United Kingdom convened a virtual meeting of 41 countries on April 2 on proposed coalition efforts to manage the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that plans to secure the strait would be implemented only after a ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran. “We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
Flash Briefs
The War in Iran Is Painful for Poland. It May Also Be in Poland’s Interest.
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 12-14 percent of Europe's liquefied natural gas flows, puts Poland's energy diversification strategy to a serious test. However, this is nothing compared to the risk posed by a nuclear-armed Iran supplying Russia with advanced missiles and drones.
Op-eds
Iran and proxies fire fewer total projectiles, increase accuracy in attacks on region (March 28–April 1 updates)
Iran and its allied militias continued launching drones, missiles, and rockets against regional countries between March 28 and April 1. There were nearly 90 incidents in this period, including distinct...
Op-eds
Has Al Jazeera Changed Its Editorial Direction?
Veteran Al Jazeera analyst Leqaa Makki threw viewers a curveball during a recent news segment. He advocated for an escalation against Iran. A familiar face on the network since 2003, Makki argued...
Op-eds
Ukraine Agrees to Mutually Beneficial Defense Deals With Gulf Arab States
“In terms of expertise, no one today can help the way Ukraine can,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after his visit to the Middle East, referring to defenses against the Shahed drones...
Policy Briefs
American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad by Iranian proxy
American journalist Shelley Kittleson was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia backed by Iran and designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), on March 31 in downtown...
Op-eds
Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: April
Welcome back to the Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker. Once a month, we ask FDD’s experts and scholars to assess the administration’s foreign policy. They provide trendlines of very positive, positive, neutral, negative, or very negative for the areas they watch. ...
Policy Tracker
Renewed Threat From Houthis in Yemen As Iran War Reaches Decisive Stage
After a month on the sidelines, the Houthis have entered the war between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States and Israel on the side of their sponsors in Tehran. On March 28, the Yemeni...
Policy Briefs
Home of Kurdistan Region president targeted, American universities threatened as attacks escalate in Iraq
The home of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, was targeted in a drone attack on March 28. The following day, Reuters, citing security sources, reported, “Air defenses shot...
Op-eds
Yemen’s Houthis enter Iran war with drone and missile attacks on Israel
The Houthis in Yemen launched several attacks against Israel today, a month into the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran. Israel announced that it intercepted the first...
Op-eds
Iran-Backed Houthis Launch Missile at Southern Israel
Latest Developments Houthis Join War: The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile targeting the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on March 28, its first entry into the current conflict....
Flash Briefs
Russia and China are losers in US war on Iran
Excerpt The United States and Israel are devastating the parasitic Islamic regime that squandered the wealth of Iran for decades and exported terror across the Middle East. Understanding the biggest...
Op-eds
Iraqi Security Institutions: The Latest Victims of Tehran’s Iraqi Proxies
The Iraqi government may not care about protecting Americans from Tehran’s militias, but it should certainly care about protecting its own citizens. Amidst bombardments against American assets in...
Policy Briefs
6 Kurdistan Regional Government soldiers killed in Iranian attack on northern Iraq
On March 24, six members of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga forces were killed in an attack in northern Iraq. According to the local Rudaw Media Network, they were killed when...
Op-eds
Iran’s Iraqi Militias Are Coming for US Troops
The United States must act to punish and, by extension, deter militia attacks on US bases in Iraq.
Op-eds
Kuwait and UAE report disrupting domestic Hezbollah cells
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates claimed to have disrupted several terror cells linked to Hezbollah over the past week. Both Persian Gulf countries alleged that their security forces identified networks...
Op-eds
Strikes continue hitting Iran-backed Iraqi militias, Kataib Hezbollah declares temporary US embassy ceasefire
Airstrikes, likely conducted by the United States as part of the US-Israeli operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies, have continued hitting Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Many of...
Op-eds
Iranian-backed militias escalate attacks in Iraq, send mixed signals on next steps
Iranian-backed militias have continued to carry out dozens of attacks in Iraq over the past week, including targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad and the United Arab Emirates consulate in...
Op-eds
Yemen, the unfinished business America ignores at its peril
As thousands of drones and missiles fly through the skies of the Middle East targeting the United States and its allies, one group’s weapons are notably absent — the Islamic Republic of Iran’s...