US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Saudi Arabia’s Armed Forces carried out strikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the evening of July 28 after several days of escalating attacks by...
On July 26, the Israeli government’s cabinet approved the entry of forces from the International Stabilization Force (ISF) into Gaza in the near future. The development envisions an...
Syria is positioning itself as an alternative route for oil exports from Iraq amid the Iran conflict and its disruption of oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz. On July 17 in Washington, DC,...
Iran has spent more than four decades building Hezbollah into a force capable of making war against Israel in hopes of one day destroying the Jewish state. Israeli forces have inflicted tremendous damage on Hezbollah’s leadership, arsenal, and manpower, yet the terror group is rebuilding, thanks in no small part to its globe-spanning illicit finance network. To shed greater light on this crucial subject, FDD has invited Israeli expert Dr. Iftah Burman to provide a robust overview of the transnational web of enterprises, stretching across the Middle East — and from Latin America to West Africa and into cyberspace — that sustains Hezbollah’s aggression. This work provides information essential to intelligence and law enforcement agencies in every country, including the United States, that recognizes the severity of Hezbollah’s threat to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East.
Iran increased attacks on the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq in mid-July as the US continued to carry out renewed airstrikes on Iran. By July 2, the US had conducted 10...
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s meeting this week with U.S. President Donald Trump offers Washington an important opportunity to press Beirut to implement pilot zones in southern Lebanon designed...
In recent weeks, Syria and Iraq have positioned themselves to be key players in a new Middle Eastern order. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi was in Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump...
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi met with US President Donald Trump on July 14 as part of his multi-day trip to Washington. It is Zaidi’s first trip to the United States after being sworn...
Syria convened its new parliament on July 12, the first to meet since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024. The new parliament, called the People’s Assembly, met after Syrian...
US President Donald Trump “informed Congress of his administration’s intent to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST),” the US State Department announced on...
Hamas claimed on July 6 it was ready to transfer authority and dissolve its government in Gaza. The announcement appeared to be in line with the US-brokered ceasefire that envisions...
On July 1, Syria’s government said that the country’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections had announced the final list of names for the country’s new parliament. The...
Iraq launched a series of raids targeting corrupt politicians and officials on June 28. “Elite Counter Terrorism Service units raided homes inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone...
Eight months after the ceasefire, Hamas still controls half of Gaza
On June 19, US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out an airstrike targeting a senior leader of the Islamic State in Syria as the US maintains its decade-long campaign against the jihadist...
Iraq is working to shore up the economic stability and security of the Kurdistan Region in the wake of months of drone and missile attacks. More than 800 attacks, many assumed to have originated...
The US-backed peace plan for Gaza has continued to progress slowly, though ceasefire talks held in Cairo in the first week and a half of June appeared to stall over the issue of Hamas’s disarmament,...
Syria is not going to undertake a military campaign against Hezbollah that Israel itself has been unable to carry out.
US Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi on June 15 to discuss strengthening ties between Baghdad and Washington. The meeting comes as the US continues...
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi is preparing for an upcoming trip to Washington, DC, Iraqi media outlets recently reported. The prime minister has been working since his May appointment...