August, 2025

• 10 August

  Iran Update, August 7, 2025

  

  The Lebanese Council of Ministers agreed on August 7 to the objectives of US Envoy Thomas Barrack’s proposal to disarm Hezbollah.[1] The proposal’s objectives include a phased plan to completely disarm Hezbollah by December 31, 2025, and to ensure an Israeli withdrawal from its five permanent positions in southern Lebanon.[2] …

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• 10 August

  Hezbollah’s existential choice: Disarm or risk its future

  

  Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group stands at a pivotal juncture, forced to weigh its future amid unprecedented US pressure to relinquish its weapons following a costly war last year that eroded its longstanding dominance over Lebanon’s security decisions. The Iran-backed militant group, which has dominated Lebanese politics and security since Israel’s …

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• 10 August

  Suweida’s shadow: Why Syria’s Kurds may rethink their future

  

  In recent weeks, protesters in cities across northeastern Syria have taken to the streets to condemn the violence in the Druze-majority province of Suweida and call for justice. Over 800 people were killed in the southeastern province last month during clashes between Druze factions and government-backed Bedouin forces. “Kurds see …

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• 10 August

  Israel has always used food as a weapon against Palestinians

  

  As the starvation of Gaza gains increasing global attention, Israel has rushed to explain it away as an “unfortunate byproduct of war” or a “logistical failure”, rather than a well-documented deliberate policy of weaponising hunger. Israel’s instrumentalisation of food and water, however, did not start on 8 October 2023, when …

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• 10 August

  Turkey’s new precision weapons stoke regional tensions

  

  In late July, Turkish defense contractors used the 2025 International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) to showcase the latest additions to the country’s arsenal. Headlining the event were two striking developments: the “Tayfun Block-4” hypersonic ballistic missile and the “Gazap” bunker-busting, non-nuclear thermobaric bomb. Both weapons, now within the Turkish military’s …

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• 8 August

  Urgent: Designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization – Now

  

  A bill, H.R.3883 (Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization Act of 2025), was put forward on June 10, 2025 by US Senator Ted Cruz, “[to] require the Secretary of State to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization.” This designation is crucial for both US and international security. …

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• 8 August

  MONEY
  TRAIL

  Saša-Dordević-Money-trail-How-violent-extremism-in-the-western-balkans-is-funded-GI-TOC-June-2025.2Download

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• 8 August

  HIRED GUNS OR IDEOLOGUES?

  Fabian-Zhilla-Hired-guns-or-ideologues-Returing-foreign-fighters-and-military-trained-persons-in-the-Western-Balkans-July-2025Download

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• 8 August

  DANGER AHEAD? SCENARIOS FOR THE FUTURE OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

  Walter-Kemp-Ioannis-Vlassis-and-Oliver-Gnad-Danger-ahead_-Scenarios-for-the-future-of-organized-crime-in-the-Western-Balkans-GI-TOC-August-2025Download

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• 6 August

  Iran Update, August 4, 2025

  

  Iran’s highest national security and foreign policy decision-making body, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), established a Defense Council on August 3 to streamline decision-making during wartime.[1] The establishment of this body, which will operate under the SNSC, likely reflects Iranian leaders’ recognition of systemic operational failures during the Israel-Iran …

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