Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

December 8, 2025 | Bridget Toomey |

Iraq Almost Takes a Stand Against Iran’s Terrorist Proxies — Then Doesn’t

The Iraqi government did the right thing and froze the assets of Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, but once the story made news on December 4, the government walked its decision back within hours. In...

December 8, 2025 |

Dozens of Children Killed in Drone Attack Launched by Sudanese Rebels

Children Slaughtered in Drone Attack: The World Health Organization (WHO) stated on December 8 that at least 63 children were among 114 people killed when a drone operated by the...

December 4, 2025 | Bridget Toomey |

Southern Transitional Council seizes key areas of Yemen’s Hadramawt Governorate from rival government forces

Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces captured the city of Seiyun and other important civilian and military sites in Hadramawt Valley on December 3 after limited clashes with Yemeni Army...

December 2, 2025 | Edmund Fitton-Brown |

Trump is right to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood

Donald Trump has begun the process of banning the Muslim Brotherhood. The US President asked his officials last week to investigate whether certain chapters of the group should be classed as...

December 1, 2025 | |

U.S., Syrian Forces Destroy ISIS Weapons Caches in Southern Syria in Combined Operation

CENTCOM Announces Combined Operation Against ISIS: United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that U.S. forces and forces from the Syrian Ministry of Interior had “located...

November 26, 2025 | David Daoud |

Histories of Hezbollah’s assassinated top military commander, likely candidates to replace him

On Sunday, September 23, 2025, an Israeli airstrike targeted the third and fourth floors of a residential building on Al Arid Street in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburbs...

November 25, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Unsolved Murder of Bedouin Couple Fans Sectarian Flames in Syria

Syria seems to be inching back towards fracturing. On November 23, unknown individuals killed a husband and wife from a Sunni Arab Bedouin tribe in Homs Province. Authorities found slogans written at the...

November 25, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Kurds at a Crossroads as Middle East Shifts

Syrian Kurdish military leader Mazloum Abdi’s recent meeting with top Kurdish officials of northern Iraq points to the region’s shifting political landscape. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander...

November 21, 2025 | Natalie Ecanow |

Inside Qatar’s $225 Million Effort to Court US Policymakers and Press

Qatar still thinks money can buy you love, and it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States to prove it. During the first Trump administration, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,...

November 21, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Clashes erupt between Syrian government troops and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

On November 19, the government-controlled Syrian army and the predominantly Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled in the area of Maadan, east of Raqqa. According to Syrian...

November 20, 2025 | |

Syrian Government Condemns Israeli Prime Minister’s Visit to Troops in Southern Syria

Latest Developments ‘Violation of Sovereignty and Unity’: The Syrian government strongly condemned a November 19 visit to Israeli-controlled Syrian territory by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...

November 19, 2025 | |

IDF Ramps Up Strikes Against Hamas, Hezbollah Targets Across Southern Lebanon

Strikes Against Hezbollah Targets: The IDF carried out several air strikes in Lebanon on November 19 after issuing evacuation warnings to civilians in the areas earmarked for attack....

November 18, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Will Al-Sharaa Meet the American Moment?

The Syrian president’s visit to the White House will be significant only if he can stabilize his country from within.

November 16, 2025 | Joe Truzman |

Islamic State–linked activity on the rise in Israel and the West Bank

On November 14, the Shin Bet intelligence agency and the Israel Police arrested four residents of East Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood on charges of having ties to the Islamic State and...

November 14, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

The Re-Americanization of the Middle East

The Trump administration is playing a key role in winding down conflicts throughout the Middle East. However, high-level engagement is also fraught with risks.

November 14, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

U.S. Diplomacy Key in Bridging SDF-Syrian Government Gaps

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are committed to “accelerating the integration of the SDF into the Syrian state,” SDF commander Mazloum Abdi stated on November 11. The assertion followed a White...

November 12, 2025 | |

Hezbollah Attempting To Smuggle Weapons Through Syria, Rebuild in South Lebanon, IDF Says

Hezbollah in Breach of Ceasefire, IDF Asserts: The IDF accused the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild its armed capabilities south of...

November 12, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iraq votes in parliamentary elections amid US security talks and concerns about Iranian influence

Iraqis voted in a parliamentary election on November 11, the country’s sixth since the toppling of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003. The election, held as security forces were deployed...

November 12, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Sharaa in Washington: A Turning Point for Syria

The question for Damascus is what comes next, with Sharaa showing that he is ready for the global prime time.   Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the White House on Monday for a historic...

November 12, 2025 | Clifford D. May |

The war against Christians

President Trump is giving attention to this matter