How double-dealing Oman threatens Trump’s Mideast peace
“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” President Donald Trump declared Wednesday. An apparently shocking statement about a nation long regarded as...
Bandar Abbas
Iran intensifies recruitment, repression amid reports of thousands of security deaths, Washington weighs ground operations
Washington has signaled readiness to expand operations, including potential ground options, while continuing strikes on Iran’s military and weapons infrastructure. At the same time, the sustained Israeli...
Op-eds
Iran Blocks 2 Chinese Vessels From Transiting Strait of Hormuz
2 Chinese-Flagged Vessels Turned Back: Iran blocked two Chinese-flagged container vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz on March 27, according to the MarineTraffic tracking...
Flash Briefs
Israel Eliminates Top IRGC Navy Commander Responsible for Closing Strait of Hormuz
Navy Commander Killed: Israel said on March 26 that it had eliminated Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, in the port city of Bandar...
Flash Briefs
10 major Iranian naval targets struck in Operation Epic Fury
Head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Admiral Brad Cooper said on March 16 that the United States has destroyed over 100 Iranian naval vessels. President Trump identified crippling the...
Op-eds
US and Israel establish air superiority, focus strikes on Iranian military sites and ‘regime pillars’ (March 4–5)
The American and Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran reached its 100th hour on March 5, as both forces in the joint operation continued to target military assets. The United States highlighted...
Op-eds
US-Israeli strikes hit Iran’s missile, nuclear, political, and repression sites
On March 2 and 3, the United States and Israel continued their sweeping joint military campaign, hitting conventional battlefield assets and a variety of other regime targets across Tehran and central...
Op-eds
Iran’s Oil Exports Remained Near Peak in November
Although Iran’s oil exports dipped slightly from their October high of 2.15 million barrels per day (mbpd), its exports in November remained robust at 2.06 mbpd, for a total of 61.8 million barrels,...
Policy Briefs
Iran’s October Oil Exports Hit 2025 Peak, Reflecting Failure of U.S. Sanctions Enforcement
Iran’s oil exports in October reached their highest monthly level of the year. This highlights the continued failure of the Trump administration to cut Tehran’s key financial lifeline. Tehran shipped...
Policy Briefs
Report: Iran rebuilding its ballistic missile program
Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile program despite recently imposed United Nations (UN) sanctions, CNNreported on October 29. Citing European intelligence sources, Iran imported shipments of...
Op-eds
With Snapback of UN Sanctions Pending, Tehran Continues To Export Oil
Tehran continues to export oil and acquire new customers despite approaching deadlines for the snapback of United Nations sanctions. Although Iranian oil exports reached their lowest level of the year...
Policy Briefs
Israel targets IRGC officials, nuclear scientist, and missile bases in Iran (June 22–21 updates)
Over the past 72 hours, Israel has intensified its air campaign across Iran, striking missile and drone infrastructure in Esfahan, Bushehr, Ahvaz, Yazd, and Qom. Targets included the Imam Hossein missile...
Op-eds
Naim Qassem encourages voting in upcoming Lebanese municipal elections
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gave a speech on Wednesday, April 28, addressing Lebanon’s upcoming municipal elections. The fate of Hezbollah’s arms is now the top question...
Op-eds
Did a boat full of smuggled arms for the Houthis ‘disappear’ off Yemen coast?
Houthi militias lost contact with a large transport boat that was on a smuggling mission via a regular sea route from the Horn of Africa countries.
Op-eds
How Iranian weapons are smuggled to the Houthis
According to the report, ships enter Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen without inspection.
Op-eds
Iranian Air Force Conducts Training Exercise
The Iranian air force began an annual air force drill on July 23, a week after the United States announced it was deploying additional assets around the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s growing...
Flash Briefs
The Impact of the Ahwaz protests in Iran
Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority on July 7 launched extensive anti-regime protests centered in the country’s western Khuzestan Province. Extreme water shortages affecting the Ahwaz were the catalyst for...
Policy Briefs
Iran Is More Than Persia
Ethnic Politics in the Islamic Republic
Monographs
Iran’s new push to erase its millennia of Jewish history
The story of the biblical queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai is among the most dramatic and moving in the Old Testament: After the pair learn of a plot to destroy the Jews hatched by the evil vizier...
Op-eds
Oman in the Middle
Muscat’s Balancing Act Between Iran and America