Iran

Iranian leaders view the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as pivotal to their efforts to deter Israel from attacking key targets in Iran. Iran is pressuring the Gulf states to deny Israel access to their airspace for any retaliatory strike on Iran. Iranian officials display no hesitation to threaten …

The following article was written by Kurdish scholar Himdad Mustafa for the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). It expresses the hope that the international community can come to an understanding that a regime change in Iran can only come by creating a coalition of Iran’s ethnic “minorities.” Israel’s imminent …

A Jordanian population sympathetic to Iran’s ambitions, coupled with the country’s long border with Israel, could turn Jordan into a potential launching pad for attacks against Israel. Jordanians marched in the capital of Amman last week, holding aloft portraits of the late secretary general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. The streets …

Iran’s supreme leader has warned Israel that its assassination of Hezbollah’s veteran leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, will “not go unavenged”, as fears of a spiralling conflict in the Middle East grow. As the shockwaves from Friday evening’s airstrike that killed Nasrallah reverberated through the region, and Israel continued to pound …

How the Failure of Tehran’s Strategy Is Raising Its Appetite for Risk Over four decades, in an effort to preserve itself, project regional influence, and deter adversaries, the Islamic Republic of Iran has invested in three projects: funding and arming a network of nonstate allies; developing ballistic missiles that can …

Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1, 2024, marked a significant escalation in the ongoing regional tensions. This assault, reportedly involving 180 missiles, was the Islamic Republic of Iran’s largest yet against Israel, targeting military and security sites in retaliation for Israeli assassinations of leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah …

Public opinion in Iran: Foreign policy contradictions between diplomacy and military action Arash Ghafouri A new public opinion poll finds the Iranian population in overwhelming, if contradictory, agreement: a majority say the country’s economic problems stem from the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy decisions, while citizens favor a continued Iranian military …

There is no shortage of misery in the Middle East today. As the region marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre, Israel mourned the murder of around 1,200 Israelis and worried about the fate of the remaining 100 hostages held by Hamas. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have …

For too long, the EU focused on Iran’s nuclear program while mostly ignoring its malign regional activities and missile program. As the consequences of both hit closer to home, the union must pursue a new strategy focused on containing Iran’s regime, supporting Iranian civil society, and engaging with Gulf states. …

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to seize terrain in several Lebanon towns along the Israel-Lebanon border. Israeli forces have previously seized or partially secured terrain in Maroun al Ras, Yaroun, and Blida in southeastern Lebanon. Geolocated footage and commercial satellite imagery on October 16 show that Israeli forces have …