October, 2025

• 3 October

  Macedonia: Still Some Way to Go Towards the EU

  

  No one seems to care about the beaten woman. Instead, those who performed their civic duty are in the dock while their attackers – who clearly pulled strings – remain at liberty. Their escape from justice is hardly unusual. If they are off the hook because of kickbacks and political …

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• 2 October

  Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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• 2 October

  Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis

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• 2 October

  The Quiet Return of Hezbollah’s Smuggling Network in Syria

  

  Hezbollah may not be fully up and running in Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, but it is still seeking to take advantage of the instability in the country, along with other militant groups. The Iranian-backed terror group is still using Syria as a corridor to arm …

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• 2 October

  Iran Update, September 30, 2025

  

  Toplines Senior Iranian officials appear to be preparing for potential military conflict. Iranian officials continue to believe that the current ceasefire between Israel and Iran will collapse and fighting will resume at some point in the future. Iranian Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement and National Security Council …

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• 2 October

  Qatar Must Apologize for Supporting Islamist Terrorist Groups

  

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly “apologized” to his Qatari counterpart for violating the Gulf state’s sovereignty in Israel’s September 9 strike against Hamas leaders in Doha. The alleged apology took place in a September 29 phone call arranged by US President Donald J. Trump. If anyone needs to …

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• 2 October

  The U.S. Military’s Greatest Test

  

  Avoiding a Civil-Military Crisis in the Age of Trump Why were U.S. military officers fretting about having to show up, on short notice, to a base in Quantico, Virginia, to hear a speech from the two civilians in the chain of command? “All hands” meetings like the one held this …

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• 2 October

  The Middle East That Israel Has Made: Why Washington Will Rue the Costs of Israeli Aggression

  

  The countries of the Middle East increasingly see Israel as their new shared threat. Israel’s war in Gaza, its expansionist military policies, and its revisionist posture are reshaping the region in ways that few anticipated. Its September strike on Hamas’s political leaders in Qatar—the seventh country hit by Israel since …

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• 2 October

  Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 30, 2025

  

  Toplines Russia and Belarus may conduct special forces sabotage operations against critical infrastructure in Poland and launch additional drone incursions and blame Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) baselessly claimed on September 30 that Ukraine is preparing to conduct a false flag attack against critical Polish infrastructure in order to …

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• 2 October

  Is the Baghdad-Erbil oil deal a blueprint for settlement—or a stopgap?

  

  After nearly two and a half years, a fragile but consequential agreement between Iraq’s federal government in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil, the seven major Oil Companies (IOC), and a local Kurdish oil company has resumed oil exports through the Iraqi-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) to the international market. …

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