Fuad Hussein

January 30, 2025 | Janatan Sayeh |

Trump’s Return Pushes Iran Into a Defensive Posture

Increasingly fearful of their loosening grip on power, the Islamic Republic’s rulers are recalibrating their foreign policy, at least temporarily, to gauge the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the...

January 28, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq face an uncertain future

Iraq’s pro-Iranian militias face an uncertain future after the December fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in Syria and amid pressure from Iraqi authorities for armed groups to be disbanded or incorporated...

October 14, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iran seeks regional alliances against Israel amid Gaza conflict

Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi tours region, seeking alliances against Israel, focusing on Gaza conflict, and discussing ties with Iraq, Oman.

April 11, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Worried about an Iranian attack? That’s exactly what it wants

Iran's week of threats against Israel prompts social media speculation. Foreign Minister's diplomatic calls precede potential military action, highlighting strategic confusion and psychological war

November 2, 2022 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Iraq’s New Cabinet

It remains to be seen whether the Iraqi honeymoon continues.

October 28, 2022 |

Iraqi Parliament Approves New National Unity Cabinet

The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved the “national unity” cabinet of Prime Minister Mohamed al-Sudani. While Sudani presented his 23-minister cabinet as a harmonious team of technocrats, the appointment of holdovers and new figures suggests that his government is not a coherent bloc but a gathering of competing powers. The development comes a year after Iraqis voted out incumbents and their power-sharing arrangements.

October 22, 2020 | John Hannah, Behnam Ben Taleblu

The Trump Administration’s High-Stakes Gambit to Curtail Rocket Attacks in Iraq

In an unexpected announcement on October 10, a group of Iran-backed Shiite militia groups declared their intention to suspend forthwith their attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq, while conditioning the ceasefire’s...

February 9, 2015 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross |

How Many Fighters Does the Islamic State Really Have?

Estimates of the number of fighters in the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are extraordinarily wide-ranging. On the low end of things, CNN’s Barbara Starr recently...

September 10, 2012 | |

The Kurdish Factor

How an ethnic minority shaped the Middle East.

October 16, 2006 | National Interest Online

A War, or Un-War?

Dear Dr. Pham: In the spirit of constructive debate to advance American foreign policy to navigate "through the shoals of the coming years" and "safely steer the ship of state",...