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,
The escalation continues. A drone attack on a US outpost in northeastern Jordan on Sunday killed three US servicemembers and injured dozens more. Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel, there have been more than 150 rocket, missile, and drone attacks on US forces in the Middle East, but the
On Friday the world’s eyes were on The Hague, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its ruling on provisional measures in the case South Africa brought against Israel for violations of the Genocide Convention. The court granted some of the orders South Africa requested against Israel, but most notably declined to order Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in Gaza. Instead, the
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
Last month, the European Council decided to open European Union (EU) accession negotiations with Ukraine and to grant candidate status to Georgia. Regardless of how long it will take each country to meet the requirements and join the EU, the twenty-seven-member bloc should expand its existing capacity-building projects and trade ties with both of them
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
It’s a title fight. On Wednesday, the United States designated the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, also called Ansar Allah, as a specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) group. Recent attacks by the Iran-backed group on Red Sea shipping “fit the textbook definition of terrorism,” explained National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The Biden administration’s label, which follows US
In mid-December, I received harrowing news: The mother and uncle of an active-duty Palestinian-American US Army soldier were trapped inside northern Gaza in a Hamas-controlled enclave behind the front lines of the group’s war with Israel. The soldier’s brother explained that the US military and Department of State told him that his mother was on
On December 29, 2023, South Africa brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over allegations of genocide against the Palestinian people. Hearings on South Africa’s request for provisional measures are being held on January 11 and 12. The Atlantic Council’s Lisandra Novo, who previously was a judicial
US President Joe Biden should be applauded for Thursday’s strikes against the Houthis. International trade is constrained by eight primary maritime chokepoints, hard realities imposed by immutable geography. The United States has long recognized a vital national security interest in ensuring freedom of navigation through each of them. This strike helped protect those interests. Half
