Middle Orient

Latest Developments An alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria on March 1 killed an Iranian advisor to Hezbollah and two Hezbollah members. Iranian state-run media blamed the strike on Israel and said that it killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Col. Reza Zarei. The strike targeted a building used by …

The sole way to “revitalize” the Palestinian Authority is to insist that it rid itself of every leader who has failed his people and who remains in power, disregarding the will and interests of the people. That is hardly likely, at least not in the foreseeable future. No one is …

Israel and Hezbollah have continued to escalate their cross-border attacks that began after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, although the two sides remain short of full-scale warfare. U.S. and French diplomats are seeking to develop a formula to de-escalate the skirmishing, modeled on some of the past agreements …

Iran’s military presence in Syria enables Tehran to pressure the United States and Israel but also provides targets for military actions against Iran. Since October 7, Iran has increased its reliance on allied militia fighters deployed in Syria in order to avoid exposing senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders …

Latest Developments Hezbollah targeted an Israeli Elbit Hermes 450 drone with surface-to-air missiles on February 26. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted one of the missiles with the David’s Sling air defense system, but a second missile struck and downed the Israeli drone. In response, the IDF said it carried …

The campaign of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi fighters on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden continues, despite renewed US and UK strikes on their positions, leading to fears about the long-term security of these strategically important waterways. The persistence of the attacks has turned the spotlight …

The government media office of Hamas in the Gaza Strip reported that as of February 18, 2024, 131 Palestinian journalists had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war (October 7, 2023). The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center’s comprehensive examination of the 131 names revealed that …

Turkey is notorious for harboring Hamas terrorists and affiliated entities, and it is unclear why the U.S. government does not take a tougher stance. Following the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, carried out by Hamas, Ankara has increasingly come into focus, for the many ways in which it provides …

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Hamas since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. Today’s action targets key officials who perpetuate Hamas’s violent agenda by representing the group’s interests abroad and managing its finances. OFAC …

The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has dramatically raised the temperature in the Middle East. Popular anger is rising. Egypt and Jordan fear the expulsion of Palestinians into their territories. Non-state actors in the Iran-led “axis of resistance” have carried out attacks in response, professedly in support of …