Tag: Shia
-
Balancing acts and breaking points: Iraq’s US-Iran dilemma
MENASource June 30, 2025 • 4:11 pm ET C. Anthony Pfaff Even without the current conflict between Israel and Iran, the prospects for future US-Iraq relations have often appeared dim. Due in part to the reduced threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and also to public opposition to US military presence…
-
Axis of unease: Why Europeans should try to manage a Turkey-Israel rivalry
The short but destructive war between Iran and Israel appears to have ended (for now) following a shaky truce. As the Middle East reels from the conflict, and tries to grapple with the implications of America’s new and elevated role, the region’s regimes are torn between a desire to see the amputation of Iran’s nuclear…
-
The D Brief: DIA’s Iran-strike assessment; NATO’s Ukraine forecast; UK plans nuke-capable F-35s; FBI agents, re-redirected; And a bit more.
Despite the president’s claims of “total obliteration,” an early assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency suggests the U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy the main parts of that program and probably only set it back by a few months. CNN first reported the intelligence assessment Tuesday, followed later…
-
Israel Can Still Lose the Peace
The Middle East is transforming before our eyes. While much of the global conversation fixates on the volleys of violence between Israel and Iran, a far more profound shift is underway: The regional order established after two world wars is coming to an end. The paramount question is no longer whether the old arrangements will…
-
Lebanon: Hezbollah’s War Abstention Signals Political Opportunity
20 Jun 2025 Issue: 68 / 25 As Israel and Iran’s military confrontation enters its second week (MEES, 20 June), one mainstay in the decades old struggle is notably absent: the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah. This marks an important change for the region, as Hezbollah has provided a military flank for Iran (and its proxies) in…
-
Dispatch from Jerusalem: Inside Israel’s bunkers as Iran war erupts
MENASource June 18, 2025 • 10:27 am ET Sarah Zaaimi JERUSALEM—As the El Al gate agent smirked and handed my passport back to me, they asked if I was scared to fly to Israel after the US decision that day to evacuate military and diplomatic personnel from the Middle East. I responded with a confused…
-
How Things Could go from Worse to Devastating for Iran
“Iran should have signed the “deal” I told them to sign,” President Trump posted on social media. “What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” wrote President Trump as the White House announced he…
-
Overtaking on the Right: The Iranian Ultra-Conservative Challenge and its Implications for Regime Unity
Since the end of 2024 there has been growing criticism from ultra-conservative and revolutionary factions in the Islamic Republic on issues of domestic and foreign policy. Most of the criticism has focused on Iran’s lack of response to the Israeli attack on October 26, 2024, Iranian failures in Syria in view of the collapse of…
-
Why Hezbollah is unlikely to engage in the Israel-Iran war—for now
MENASource June 17, 2025 • 8:54 am ET David Daoud Israel’s inevitable strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities has finally occurred. The Israelis on Friday launched extensive, non-stop airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, coupled with assassinations of Tehran’s senior-most officers and nuclear scientists. Iran had built up Hezbollah’s massive arsenal to deter precisely such…
-
If the War Between Israel and Iran Continues, the US Should Stay Out of It
June 17, 2025 US security is not at stake—no matter how many times Netanyahu goes on US television to claim otherwise. Supporters of Iraqi pro-Iran groups hold a cutout of US President Donald Trump during a protest in Baghdad near the US embassy, on June 16, 2025.(Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP via Getty Images) From a…
