The Next War of Attrition is in Yemen
Battlefield dynamics in Yemen shift quickly, but Houthi aims do not. A movement organized around radical ideology and perpetual conflict now shares a border with a state organized around modernization...
Oman
Iranian Airlines Expand Trips to Iraq Despite U.S. Sanctions
Operation Economic Outcast has disrupted Iranian aviation, prompting major regional hubs, including the United Arab Emirates and Oman, to suspend flights by Iranian carriers for fear of facing U.S. sanctions....
Policy Briefs
Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government Launches a Serious Challenge to the Houthis
The Iran-backed Houthis march down Yemen’s west coast looked easy, but holding the territory is proving more difficult. Yemen’s internationally recognized government began Operation “Dawn of Yemen”—...
Policy Briefs
Who still fights the war on terror?
A plumber, a dentist, a farmer, and a wounded pilot
Op-eds
Trump must close this Turkish loophole that allows Iran to skirt sanctions
Washington has done well targeting Tehran’s shipping, banking and financial networks. The regime is increasingly being pushed onto costlier land routes. But some countries are leaving one major artery...
Op-eds
US charges engineer with supporting Houthis, Louisiana brothers and Florida man with financing Hamas
Federal authorities in September charged defendants in three cases alleging support for the Houthis and Hamas. The cases accuse a Department of Energy engineer of attempting to aid the Houthis and two...
Op-eds
China Is the Last Major Runway Open to Iran’s Sanctioned Airlines
Mahan Air, which Washington sanctioned in 2011 for ferrying weapons and operatives for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is still landing in China. On September 23, hours after the U.S. Treasury Department’s...
Policy Briefs
Sanctioned Iranian Airlines Keep Flying to Turkey
Fear of U.S. sanctions has helped stop Iranian airlines from operating in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. But in Turkey, Iranian planes are still flying. Flights from Iran continue to arrive...
Policy Briefs
Letting the Houthis Control the Red Sea Coast Would Be a Gift to Tehran
What happened to not negotiating with terrorists? American officials met with a Houthi delegation in Oman in the days after the Iran-backed group’s advance on Yemen’s west coast, which...
Policy Briefs
Have We Lost the Iran War?
Has the United States lost the Iran war? The Iranian regime certainly thinks it has. The big Iranian funk that came after the 12-Day War in June, which climaxed the Israeli multi-front offensive...
Op-eds
Arming the U.S. military for the new cold war
More money necessary but not sufficient
Op-eds
Houthi attacks expose Iran’s desperation — here’s how Trump must respond
Tehran saw its leverage slipping away — and expanded the battlefield to attack the United States and its allies from a different angle. That’s the takeaway from this week’s fighting in Yemen,...
Op-eds
Israel claims control of Ali al Taher after weeks of Hezbollah attacks and failed handover efforts
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on September 3 that its 36th Division had cleared Hezbollah personnel from two underground routes beneath south Lebanon’s Ali al Taher Ridge, the site...
Op-eds
Oman can’t avoid Operation Economic Outcast
President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of American plans for the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the threat, Iran and Oman announced that...
Op-eds
Iraq’s Growing Oil Exports Through Basra Should Not Become an Asset for Iran
Basra, Iraq’s oil export hub perched on the Persian Gulf, is busier than it has been since conflict between the United States and Iran began in February. According to Bloomberg, satellite imagery...
Policy Briefs
Operation Economic Outcast’s Success Depends on Aggressive, Sustained Enforcement
First there was the maximum pressure campaign during President Trump’s first term. Then came Operation Economic Fury in April 2026. Now, with Operation Economic Outcast, the Trump administration is launching...
Policy Briefs
Why a Saudi Nuclear Program Is Not Worth Ending US Nonproliferation Policy
It is unlikely that Russia or China would be willing to support a Saudi nuclear program if the United States refuses to do so.
Op-eds
Halting Trade With Iran Won’t Help UAE Combat Sanctions Evasion
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is moving to constrain Iran economically — but it is leaving a major source of regime revenue untouched. On August 18, following a series of high-level discussions with...
Policy Briefs
Yemen on the Brink of a Return to Civil War
When the Houthis in Yemen entered the conflict between the United States and Iran on July 20 by announcing a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, it spelled danger in the Red Sea. Now, it appears Yemenis...
Policy Briefs
Houthis escalate attacks in Red Sea and on Saudi Arabia, Riyadh evaluates options
After Yemen’s Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 20, the Iran-backed terror group has attacked Saudi Arabia directly and claimed attacks on eight Saudi-linked...