Washington has potentially raised the cost of doing business with Hezbollah by formally tying the group to Iran under U.S. sanctions law. On Thursday, August 20, the Treasury Department’s Office...
The October surprise was born in Iran — and 46 years later, the Islamic Republic may be preparing to launch another one. In 1980, the hostage crisis — 52 Americans seized at the US embassy...
An arresting image from the last century should haunt us in this one. In November 1940, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrived in Berlin to deepen Moscow’s pact with Nazi Germany, supposedly...
“Gradually, then suddenly” could work
This is probably Trump’s last chance to show why the regime should fear him.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, only two months into his term, has a busy month of foreign engagements. In early July, he received the body of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei which was visiting Iraq’s...
A century of failed experiments before the rise of Mamdani and friends
Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding that has not stopped the exchange of fire in the Gulf but has already produced a renewed and more aggressive repression campaign inside...
Iran’s rulers think Trump is as beatable as his predecessors
Dear Mrs. Trump, Or may I call you Melania? If that is too familiar, no problem, I understand. But you can certainly call me Cliff! I am a longtime admirer. I have heard you speak out for human rights,...
The Islamic Republic of Iran remains at war with America
A few hopefully helpful notes on Iran’s “Islamic Revolutionaries”
Terrorist groups are exploiting music and audio platforms to spread extremist propaganda, exposing dangerous gaps in online content moderation and counterterrorism coordination.
What happens if the U.S. declines to fight for the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel’s Alma Center is wrong about Lebanon’s Shia population. In a recent article, the institute claimed that Hezbollah’s Shia constituency is a “captive audience” chained by dependency, fear,...
That’s why they’re so difficult to deter or constrain
The clock is ticking in Washington and Tehran. With midterm elections approaching, pressure is building on President Donald Trump — from the left and the isolationist right — to wind down...
The U.S. can win without Iran acknowledging it lost