Category: Iran

Moller quoted in Foreign Policy on deterrence failure

ORIGINAL SOURCE On February 2, IPSI nonresident senior fellow Sara Bjerg Moller was mentioned in a recent Foreign Policy article by Matthew Kroenig and the Stimson Center’s Emma Ashford. The article, on whether the US can deter or compel Iran, referenced Moller’s claim that “if you have to carry through on your coercive threat deterrence

Will the US retaliate against Iran after a deadly drone attack?

JUST IN A new line has been crossed. Iran-backed militias killed three US servicemembers in a drone attack on a base in northeastern Jordan. This is the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza,

A miscalculated aggression: How Pakistan’s response exposed Iran’s vulnerabilities

On January 16, Iran’s armed forces launched several missile and drone attacks against Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan, leaving several civilians dead, including children, in both Iraq and Pakistan. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) boasted that the strikes were in defense of Iran’s national security and in response to several attacks that had killed Iranian

The skies are quiet, but the Iran-Pakistan strikes left lasting diplomatic damage

Pakistan-Iran relations nosedived sharply on January 16, when Tehran carried out unilateral strikes in western Pakistan, following its recent attacks in Iraq and Syria. In turn, Pakistan adopted a two-stage strategy: First, it downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran by recalling its ambassador. Then, forty-eight-hours after the attack, it conducted retaliatory strikes inside southeastern Iran, targeting

Experts react: What’s really going on with Pakistan and Iran exchanging attacks?

On Tuesday, Iran used missiles and drones to strike western Pakistan near Koh-e-Sabz. On Thursday, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in southeastern Iran near Saravan, then released a statement claiming that “Iran is a brotherly country.” More than a sibling squabble is going on here. Iran and Pakistan were apparently targeting hideouts of armed non-state actors—Jaish al-Adl

Experts react: What to expect after Iranian attacks on Erbil

On January 15, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for missile attacks into Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, that killed four and may have wounded as many as seventeen. The attacks largely hit civilian areas, killing a well-known Kurdish real estate developer and four members of his family. According