Why Iraq’s Next Government Won’t Shake off Iran’s Influence
A pro-Iran government in Baghdad will compromise US development plans for Iraq.
Shia Islam
Without Conditions, Qatari Aid to Lebanon Isn’t Helpful
Qatar wants to help a struggling Lebanon undo the damage wrought by the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah. The 13-month-long conflict, which Hezbollah launched in the immediate aftermath...
Policy Briefs
Iran Is Killing Protestors. Europe Is Issuing Statements.
The EU has the tools to impose real costs on the IRGC’s repression and its operations in Europe. What’s missing is action.
Op-eds
Trump’s noose tightens on Iran — here’s what must come next
Nobody can say President Donald Trump didn’t give Tehran a chance. Even at the11th hour, with massive military assets pouring into the Middle East after Iran’s brutal attacks on its own protesting...
Op-eds
Kataib Hezbollah threatens US bases in the Middle East if US strikes Iran
On January 16, against the backdrop of a possible American military operation against Iran, Kataib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) threatened that the group was ready to strike US bases in Iraq...
Op-eds
Kurdish opposition groups in Iran support protests, claim attacks on Tehran regime
Kurdish opposition groups in northwestern Iran have actively supported protests against the Iranian regime during the first two weeks of January. They have issued statements backing...
Op-eds
Lebanon’s Own Laws Require Disarming Muslim Brotherhood Branch Designated by U.S. as Terror Group
The United States took aim at Islamic Group (IG), the Muslim Brotherhood’s Lebanese branch on January 13. The U.S. State Department designated IG as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and designated...
Policy Briefs
Tehran Regime Kills Thousands, Crossing Trump’s Red Line
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” President Donald Trump told the people of Iran, pledging “the United States of America will come to their rescue” if the clerical regime in Tehran guns...
Policy Briefs
Lebanon Must Continue Publicly Dismantling Active Hezbollah Installations
Lebanese news outlet Al Jadeed published three leaked images on January 6 allegedly showing Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) soldiers seizing a massive Hezbollah installation located south of the Litani River...
Policy Briefs
Iran’s Islamic rulers are teetering on collapse. Trump must give them a final shove.
For years, policymakers and analysts have obsessed over how the Islamic Republic of Iran might fall. Far less attention has been paid to the more important question: whether it should. To...
Op-eds
Tehran regime fears defections as Iran’s nationwide movement defies containment
What began on December 28 as demonstrations in downtown Tehran, driven by runaway inflation and the rial’s sharp depreciation against the dollar, has moved beyond a protest wave and become...
Op-eds
After Khamanei: What the Fall of Iran’s Regime Would Mean for the Region
The fall of Iran’s Islamist regime would mark one of the most seismic shifts in Middle Eastern geopolitics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought it to power. As massive protests grip the...
Op-eds
Iran’s New IRGC Deputy Chief Is Responsible for American, Iranian, and Israeli Deaths
Ahmad Vahidi, a veteran of the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was named its deputy commander on December 31, 2025, by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The IRGC was established in 1979...
Insights
Not for Gaza, but for Iran: Protesters reject regime’s global proxy wars
The universities, historically the bastions of anti-monarchist Marxism, are now echoing with chants of “Down with the three corrupts! Mullah, leftist, Mujahid.”
Op-eds
Lebanon Must Become Independent of Saudi Arabia Too
If Lebanon’s Shia are to finally divorce Iran and reclaim patriotism for their nation, other sects must also place Lebanon’s national interests above the diktats of foreign patrons. That means the...
Op-eds
Iraqi militias divided on disarming and accepting government control
The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah has said it will not disarm in the wake of reports that suggest armed militias in Iraq will place their weapons under state control. “The Iraqi group...
Op-eds
Lebanon Must Pick the Abraham Accords over the Muslim Brotherhood
It would be a grave mistake for Lebanon to swap the Islamist resistance axis of Iran for the Muslim Brotherhood of Turkey and Qatar. ...
Op-eds
Iranian Baluch separatist factions establish Popular Fighters Front coalition
On December 10, several Iranian separatist groups belonging to the country’s Baluch minority announced that they will operate under the umbrella of the Popular Fighters Front (JMM). The new coalition...
Op-eds
How Qatar Can Help Lebanon
Hezbollah’s efforts to regenerate have seemingly reached a critical juncture. In one of the most escalatory actions since the ceasefire took effect in Lebanon last November, Israel eliminated Hezbollah’s...
Op-eds
Iran Steps Up Persecution of Baha’i Faith
Increased Targeting of Baha’i Minority Since War With Israel: Iranian authorities have increased efforts to target members of the Baha’i faith, subjecting Baha’i citizens...