Don’t Repeat Obama’s Mistake in Iran
The 44th president drew a ‘red line’ in 2013, then imposed no consequences when Syria crossed it.
Najaf
Khomeini’s war: Sunni Islamists taught Shia Iran to hate Israel
The ayatollahs adopted the Muslim Brotherhood’s worldview to make the destruction of the Jewish state the regime’s holy cause. The Shia leadership in Najaf now has the chance to return the Shia world to pacifism
Op-eds
Hezbollah is the Antithesis of Shia Islam
A video went viral of a Lebanese woman standing at the Beirut Airport and berating other passengers, shouting: “We sacrificed our blood, this is our country, and whoever does not like it should emigrate.”...
Op-eds
Hezbollah c’est moi: The Party of God without Hassan Nasrallah
On September 27, the unimaginable happened. At approximately 5:22 p.m. local time, reports emerged of a massive Israeli strike on the predominantly Shia southern suburbs of Beirut, known colloquially as...
Op-eds
CBI Revoking Bank Melli’s License Is Unlikely to Curb Iran’s Sanction Evasion in Iraq
The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) revoked Bank Melli of Iran’s operating license on February 8, following increased U.S. pressure to untangle Iraq’s financial system from Iranian money laundering and...
Policy Briefs
‘Ghosts of Beirut’ gets Hezbollah’s most wanted all wrong
Showtime miniseries is thrilling but its portrayal of Hezbollah’s American-killing Imad Mughniyeh is wide off the historical mark
Op-eds
Senior Muslim Clerics Issue Fatwa Against Hamas
The Islamic Fatwa Council — a non-governmental clerical body headquartered in Najaf, Iraq — issued a fatwa, or religious edict, last week condemning Hamas’ repression of Palestinians...
Flash Briefs
Iraq election drubbing leaves Iran scrambling to save its militias
Amid the theatrics and walkouts, the meeting illustrated the magnitude of the defeat suffered by the parties loyal to the Iranian regime in the fourth election since the toppling of Saddam Hussein.
Op-eds
Helping Iran fail in Iraq
Hours after the failed Nov. 7 assassination attempt on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, pro-Iran militias in Iraq claimed responsibility but denied that Tehran had ordered the attack. Not only...
Op-eds
Biden Administration Hesitates to Condemn Iranian Terrorism in Iraq
If Washington and the West stand behind the anti-Iran coalition, it might be able to overcome Tehran and disband its troublemaking militias.
Op-eds
In Private, Iraqis Support Peace With Israel
In public, they are forced to say the opposite. Even Iraqis living abroad fear Palestinian social shaming should they support peace and normalization with the Jewish state.
Op-eds
New Iraqi Prime Minister-Designate Poses Threat to Iran, Opportunity for U.S.
The March 17 nomination of Adnan al-Zurfi as Iraq’s prime minister-designate highlights the extent to which Iran’s stranglehold on Iraqi politics could be eroding. As such, Zurfi’s nomination holds...
Insights
Crisis Of The Iranian Order
The “transnational”: this is how Qassem Soleimani, the former head of Iran’s Qods Force, who was killed in a January U.S. missile strike in Baghdad, is described in Hezbollah-run schools in Lebanon....
Op-eds
Iraq Needs Regime Change Again
Musical chairs in the Iraqi parliament can no longer solve the country's problems.
Op-eds
Nomination for Iraqi Premiership Largely Brokered by Iranian Axis
Despite the promises of Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Mohammed Allawi, to address the demands of protesters that drove his predecessor from office, his nomination has been met with universal derision...
Policy Briefs
Finnish MP Under Fire For Comparing Israel To ISIS
Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the head of the Jerusalem office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told the Jerusalem Post on Sunday: “This guy [Hussein al-Taee] is obviously an antisemite.”
Op-eds
Top Iranian cleric Shahroudi dies who oversaw 2,000 executions
Shahroudi, 70, was a close ally of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and had been seen by analysts as a possible successor to him.
Op-eds
Trump Can’t Afford to Forget About Iraq
In January, with an eye toward national elections on May 12, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stunned many observers when he ...
Op-eds
Two Cheers for Rex
I rarely find myself thinking along similar lines as fellow Foreign Policy contributor Stephen Walt. Nevertheless, just as I was contemplating an article that would take note of a few o...
Op-eds
Perfect Partners
When he won the election, Donald Trump—along with his national security adviser Michael Flynn, his all-purpose counselor Stephen Bannon, and, perhaps, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner—wa...