Vatican City

July 8, 2026 | Mariam Wahba |

As China Frees Pastor Jin, Christianity Remains a Target

After spending 266 days in a Chinese prison for practicing his faith, Pastor Ezra Jin is now free. The July 3 release comes weeks after President Donald Trump raised Jin’s case with Chinese paramount...

June 9, 2026 | Samuel Ben-Ur |

Iraq’s New Christian Patriarch Inherits a Vanishing Flock

On its surface, Polis III Nona’s installation ceremony bore all the hallmarks of a thriving church. The new patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Iraq’s largest Christian denomination,...

May 22, 2026 | Connor Pfeiffer, Samuel Ben-Ur

Religious Persecution Underpins Anti-American Regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua

The Trump administration should put pressure on Havana and Managua to bolster religious freedom.

April 27, 2026 | Samuel Ben-Ur |

The Vatican’s Deal with the CCP is Not Working—But Washington Can Help

Last week, news broke that the Hong Kong government is working to confiscate millions from Hong Kong democracy advocate and devout Catholic Jimmy Lai, 78, funds that it claims are tied to his ...

March 30, 2026 | Shannon Walsh, Sean Calabria

Contra Pope Leo, Catholic Just War Doctrine Supports Iran Strikes

Over the weekend, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican by condemning those who “wage war” and insisting that God unequivocally rejects war and the prayers of those who...

March 11, 2026 | David Daoud |

Lebanon war intensifies as IDF strikes harder and Hezbollah escalates attacks

The renewed Lebanon war, now just over a week old, has witnessed a gradual intensification of attacks by Israel and Hezbollah between March 8 and 11, with both sides making clear their current disinterest...

December 24, 2025 | Mariam Wahba, Samuel Ben-Ur

Eight Things to Know About Christians in China

The latest wave of religious repression in China represents the most aggressive internal clampdowns in years. Catholic bishops appointed by the Vatican have been disappeared, despite a deal allegedly giving...

September 30, 2025 | Charlie Laderman, Nazee Moinian

Freedom for Iran: Learning From U.S. Support for Polish Anti-Communists in the 1980s

September 9, 2025 | Joe Truzman |

Israel targets Hamas leaders in Qatar

Israeli airstrikes in the Qatari capital of Doha targeted senior members of Hamas’s external leadership on Tuesday afternoon local time. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the operation, saying it had targeted Hamas’s leadership over the group’s responsibility for the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.  

August 17, 2025 | Mariam Wahba |

Egypt’s War Against the World’s Oldest Christian Monastery

The state’s suppression of St. Catherine’s is a microcosm of Egypt’s broader campaign against the country’s Christians—including my family.

June 24, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

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

May 20, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Lebanon Should Take a Cue from al-Sharaa – and Talk to Israel

A joke has it that Syria’s self-proclaimed president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus to make up for the two New York towers that Al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa former organization,...

May 13, 2025 | Waller R. Newell |

My dinner with Aleksandr Dugin

Putin doesn't want to restore the USSR; he wants a 'new world'

April 30, 2025 | Clifford D. May |

Putin ‘has to be dealt with differently’

Trump’s new perspective is correct

December 6, 2023 | Andrea Stricker, Anthony Ruggiero

Radioactive: Executives from Russia’s Rosatom Corporation May Qualify for U.S. Sanctions

November 21, 2023 | |

Israel SitRep: Nov. 21, 2023

Today’s Issue: Israeli Cabinet to Meet Tonight to Approve Hostage Deal | Israel Announces It Captured Two Gazans Inside the Country a Month after the October 7 Attacks | IDF Forces Encircle Jabalya,...

November 7, 2023 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iran begins diplomatic offensive against Israel and US

The key leaders in Iran’s efforts are President Ibrahim Raisi and chief diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

January 11, 2023 | Clifford D. May |

Walk like an Israeli

Why a Jew’s visit to the holiest Jewish site provokes outrage

May 12, 2022 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Lebanon’s ‘useless’ election will be neither free nor fair

Hezbollah coercion has occurred in the weeks and months leading up to this Sunday’s vote

June 14, 2021 | Andrea Stricker, Behnam Ben Taleblu

In the Iran nuclear crisis, the IAEA stands alone

Excerpt “And how many divisions does the Pope have?”  former Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin is alleged to have quipped in response to a political comment by the Vatican. Though outdated, the retort...