Middle Orient

Rarely in modern history has a military offensive been as loudly and persistently foreshadowed as the June 2025 Israeli and American strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. For more than three decades, leaders in Tel Aviv and Washington have issued stark warnings about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions and activities, and …

The Islamic Republic of Iran is, quite possibly, at its weakest point since its founding, in 1979. In June, Israeli and U.S. attacks destroyed its uranium enrichment capacity and many of its air defense systems. In December and January, the country experienced the most widespread domestic uprising since the birth …

Map of Nubl and al-Zahra in the northern Aleppo countryside (June 10, 2018): The map shows the locations of the two Twelver Shiite towns within territories held by Syrian government forces (blue), opposition forces (green), and Kurdish forces (yellow) during the Syrian civil war. Despite their isolation amid Sunni and …

A woman named Elizabeth Newman supposedly runs two U.K.-registered crypto exchanges. But she appears to be a corporate fiction used as a front for a convicted embezzler whom the United States has accused of moving billions of dollars’ worth of digital assets on behalf of Iran’s repressive regime. On paper, …

Five Kurdish Iranian groups announced the formation of a united coalition against the Tehran regime in a joint press conference on February 22. The press conference was held by leaders from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the …

The US-Israeli military attack on Iran led to the death of a number of first-line leaders in the Iranian authority, led by the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ali Khamenei. The list also included the adviser to the Iranian leader, the head of the Defense Council Ali Shamkhani, the …

February 25, 2026, marked the so called significant diplomatic moment as the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jerusalem and was received with exceptional warmth by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu personally welcomed him at the airport and publicly greeted him on social media. This was his second visit …

The historical relationship between Iran and Israel has transformed dramatically from alliance to hostility over the decades. On February 28, Operation Epic Fury marked a significant escalation, as the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran It seems totally out of a Bollywood flick, where best friends become worst enemies, …

The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026, may significantly impact the country’s stance on weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, 2026, in a joint US -Israeli airstrike targeting his compound in Tehran. Iranian state …

For nearly four decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the most powerful figure in Iran, holding ultimate political and religious authority. Seen by some as the protector of the Islamic Revolution and by others as a leader who suppressed dissent, his influence shaped Iran and the wider West Asian region. Early …