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
Over four months after Hamas’ horrendous October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Israeli military is nowhere near the decisive victory that it sought against the Islamist group. Evidence does suggest that Hamas has lost significant capabilities to sustain its armed resistance. The rockets being launched toward Israeli cities and targets have gone down significantly,
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
Hamas hostage-taking is a standing threat to global security. If this crime is left unaddressed and its victims go without redress, international norms will be severely eroded, and the world risks witnessing a rise in hostage-taking and terrorist atrocities. Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, 2023 featured the largest international hostage-taking in modern history. Inhumane acts—including
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
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
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
Consequences were promised . . . and delivered. Last month, the United States formed a coalition of more than twenty nations called Operation Prosperity Guardian to respond to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Last week, the United States, along with allies and partners, issued a stark warning to the Houthis to stop
JUST IN They’re seeing red. On Thursday, the United States and the United Kingdom carried out air and missile strikes in Yemen after weeks of attacks by the Houthis on shipping vessels in the Red Sea that had disrupted global commerce. Will these strikes deter the Iranian proxy group from further attacks? Will they embroil
In Season 1, Episode 10 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Renad Mansour, an expert on Iraq, Iran, and allied groups. As the region convulses from the war in Gaza, they begin by assessing reports that the Wagner Group has been tasked with transferring a Russian air defense system
