The Israeli defense minister said that Israel does not believe Hamas will agree to a ceasefire. The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli forces in the central Gaza Strip on May 5 that he anticipates ”a powerful operation in Rafah in the near future” because Israel has ”identified signs …
Read More »Iran Update, May 4, 2024
Hamas and Qatari delegations arrived in Cairo to discuss the current ceasefire proposal on May 4.[i] Hamas is expected to present an official response to the proposal during the discussions.[ii] Arab mediators told the Wall Street Journal that the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, said on …
Read More »Iran Update, May 7, 2024
Israeli forces launched a limited ground operation to control the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces advanced into eastern Rafah and took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) …
Read More »Iran Wants To Expand Its Influence In Central Asia And Use Tajikistan To Help It Do So – OpEd
Over the last two years, Tehran has sought to increase its influence in Central Asia, convinced that changes in the region and more broadly make that an important goal; and it views Tajikistan, a country with which it shares some but far from all cultural characteristics, as a key player …
Read More »Slain Iranian General Was in Damascus to Receive a Top-Secret File
Regime security services told Tehran that leaks leading to Zahedi’s assassination originated from Iranian members within Tehran’s embassy in Damascus, according to al-Jarida. Sources have disclosed that Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, made a visit to Damascus shortly before his killing to …
Read More »Iran’s Dangerous New Terror Proxy: Sudan
Iran’s Encirclement of Israel, Control of Red Sea, Almost Complete “What makes the future in this case darker is Sudan’s history of hosting extremists and jihadists from the far right and far left. During the previous regime, Sudan hosted Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Carlos the …
Read More »Iran Changes Its Route, Not Its Destination – OpEd
The massive armada of 350 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, launched by Iran toward Israel in the early hours of April 14, marked a sea-change in the anti-Israel approach the Iranian regime has pursued since its foundation in 1979. Its anti-Israel policy was embedded in the broad strategy known originally …
Read More »Iran Update, May 3, 2024
The Houthi movement said it will expand targeting of maritime shipping into the Mediterranean Sea, which is probably part of an Iranian-led effort to impose an unofficial economic blockade on Israel. The Houthi movement announced on May 3 that it will begin targeting ships in the eastern Mediterranean that are …
Read More »It’s time for Tehran to take a cold, hard look at its proxy strategy
The recent blow-for-blow strikes by Iran and Israel are bound to result in some introspection in Tehran, although this will not be immediately evident. For now, Iranian officials are seeking to show that the fusillade of drones and missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel on April 13 has reestablished …
Read More »Iran Update, May 2, 2024
A Lebanese media outlet published on May 1 the purported text of the Egyptian-proposed ceasefire agreement that Hamas is considering.[i] The reported proposal addresses all of Hamas’ maximalist demands except for a permanent ceasefire.[ii] Hamas would not likely adhere to a permanent ceasefire, however, given that Hamas has violated previous …
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