Recent Posts

Palestinians in Syria: Handarat After the Fall

A shattered refugee camp becomes emblematic of the Palestinian ordeal in SyriaOnce a frontline in Aleppo’s war, the devastated Palestinian camp now faces a new reckoning over militias, reconstruction and the question of Syrian citizenship. On a hill in northeast Aleppo, overlooking the Queiq River waterfall where families gather in …

Read More »

Syria will not target Hezbollah positions inside Lebanon

The Syrian Ministry of Defense said the current deployment of Syrian army units along the country’s borders with neighboring states, including Lebanon, does not constitute a military escalation but rather a purely defensive and organizational measure that does not target any country or party. The ministry explained that the deployment …

Read More »

Who Will Be Iran’s Next Supreme Leader?

If the succession process can be carried out as Khamenei intended, it will likely bring a hardliner into power. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death on Saturday after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit his compound immediately re-invoked the succession issue inside Iran, along with threats from the U.S. president to interfere in …

Read More »

Great Power Spillover from the Iran War: Implications for China, Russia, Turkey, and Europe

Washington Institute experts explain what U.S. officials and military planners should be on the lookout for as great power competitors and close allies outside the region consider their responses to the crisis. Trump’s Next Steps Will Reverberate Beyond the Middle East President Trump’s decision to attack Iran adds another layer …

Read More »

Israel and Somaliland: Size Matters… So Does Location

Israel’s initiative in recognizing Somaliland potentially raises the level of threat from the Houthis, an Iranian-supported terrorist militia that occupies most of northern Yemen. Somaliland is located directly across from Yemen. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (“Friends of Allah”), have proven their durability by having survived many US …

Read More »