Toplines Some Syrian General Security Service (GSS) units are improving their counter-insurgency approach in rural minority areas by relying on relationships with locals. The GSS arrested a large Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Assadist cell in Sheikh Bader, Tartous Province, on November 12.[1] Independent Syria researcher Gregory Waters reported on …

Brussels’ bid to promote an ‘Economic Security Doctrine’ epitomises the EU Commission chief’s grand strategy: to repeatedly churn out vacuous grand strategies You’ve heard of the Draghi report. You might remember the Competitiveness Compass. You probably don’t recall the Small Affordable Cars initiative. And what was the Budapest Declaration again? …

This will be a text about how our international partners are reacting to “Mindichgate.” I’ve heard a lot over these past days. Throughout all the years of the full-scale war, the vast majority of us, when speaking publicly, maintained the president’s line. Even when it was difficult, we restrained ourselves …

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have violated phase one of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on at least eight occasions between November 13 and November 21, according to reports from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Since the ceasefire’s implementation on October 10, Palestinian groups have violated the deal 32 …

Iranian-backed political parties are preparing to form the next Iraqi federal government after winning over a third of the seats in the recent parliamentary elections. These parties may exclude or at least weaken Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani, despite his coalition winning the plurality of seats. Sudani could try …

Russia stepped foot in southern Syria for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad almost a year ago. On November 17, a Russian military delegation traveled to the southern region, where they conducted “reconnaissance operations” in Quneitra Province, which borders the Golan Heights. The Russians were accompanied by …

European states should take a finance-led approach to addressing hybrid threats, organised crime and terrorism. Introduction and Background In April 2025, the EU published its updated internal security strategy, ProtectEU, underlining the reality that the lives of European citizens ‘have become less secure’. Hybrid threats, organised crime networks and terrorist …

Iraq’s elections make ponderous a status quo Washington and Tehran seek to preserve; manoeuvring politicians make work for external powers contesting the fate of Iraq’s Iran-backed militia groups. Iraq’s November national elections positioned incumbent Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC) as the leading party in federal …

Russia has reportedly modified its Iskander 9M723 ballistic missiles making them harder to intercept. The causes are unclear, but the impact on Ukraine is not. Recently, there have been a series of reports that Ukraine’s ability to intercept the Russian 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missile with Patriot interceptors is deteriorating. Given …

Iraq’s parliamentary election on 11 November went smoothly from a procedural perspective but left a fragmented political landscape in its wake. While incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani topped the poll on the back of a populist campaign of public sector spending, no one party is close to securing a …