First, there was the Technocrat-in-Chief meeting on July 14 with an up-and-coming, newly selected Technocrat Prime Minister from Iraq, Ali Falih Kadhim al-Zaidi. Secondly, the multi-billion-dollar deals flowed like the Euphrates River.
Lors du sommet de l’OTAN à Ankara, le Luxembourg s’est positionné comme l’un des plus fervents défenseurs d’un réarmement européen accéléré. Pour un pays de seulement 700 000 habitants, solidement ancré en Europe occidentale et quasiment dépourvu d’armée permanente, cette position n’est manifestement pas motivée par des impératifs de défense. Son calcul est purement financier.
Alors que les médias occidentaux continuent de diffuser des récits décrivant un fossé grandissant entre les États-Unis et l’Europe concernant le conflit en cours en Ukraine — un récit mettant en scène des États-Unis de plus en plus désintéressés et désengagés face à une Europe de plus en plus désespérée et belliqueuse —, il est important de rappeler précisément comment cette guerre a éclaté et pourquoi, ainsi que la réalité concrète qui détermine sa poursuite.
Former senior U.S. defense officials join a Russia expert to discuss how the Iran crisis is shaping Moscow’s military, political, and economic ambitions in the region.
On July 9, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum with Matthew Tavares, Keith Kellogg, and Anna Borshchevskaya. Tavares is a former Pentagon official with two decades of experience in U.S. national security affairs. Kellogg is a highly decorated U.S. Army officer who has served as special presidential envoy for Ukraine and senior national security advisor to the president, among other posts. Borshchevskaya is the Harold Grinspoon Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East, and coauthor (with Tavares) of its 2026 report “After Ukraine: Prospects for a Russian Resurgence in the Middle East.” The event was moderated by veteran journalist and author Christian Caryl. The following is a rapporteurs’ summary of their remarks.
As long as the group’s economic, political, and institutional ecosystem remains intact, officials will need to pair disarmament efforts with a sustained strategy to target financial networks, political influence, and judicial infiltration.
The US’s tactical military successes in the Strait of Hormuz do not solve the strategic problem, as Iran uses asymmetric tactics, turning US military dominance into an endless and costly conflict with no clear political outcome.
Elsewhere, Slovakia’s referendum fails over low turnout, Hungary heads for a presidential showdown, and Czechia’s double delegation to the NATO summit sparks controversy.
A scandal involving a young doctor linked to the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) has dominated Polish politics for weeks, prompting dismissals, criminal investigations and a wider reckoning over the management of the country’s public healthcare system.
There are proven ways to address the widescale abuses enacted by Turkish authorities since a failed coup in July 2016. But all of them require political will and civic energy.
Ten years have passed since the failed coup of July 15, 2016, in Turkey. Authorities blamed an army faction loyal to the so-called Gulen Movement, branded the ‘Fetullahist Terrorist Organization’, FETO, and declared a threat to national security.
La guerre de quarante jours déclenchée le 28 février 2026 a révélé les limites de la supériorité militaire américaine face à l’Iran. Trois mois plus tard, Washington tente une approche plus pragmatique : maintenir Ormuz suffisamment ouvert pour éviter un choc énergétique mondial, affaiblir les relais régionaux de Téhéran sans déclencher une nouvelle guerre totale.
Key Takeaways
The United States has continued to strike Iranian military targets, including some targets further inland. Iranian regime media reported on July 15 that US forces struck the Artesh Ground Forces 388th Mechanized Assault Brigade barracks in Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchistan Province. This strike is notable given that the 388th Brigade is located around 200 kilometers from the Iranian coast, while most US airstrikes in July have been concentrated around Iran’s southern coast. The Artesh has conducted operations throughout the war and most recently claimed on July 15 that it conducted drone strikes targeting US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Azraq, Jordan.
Iraqi media reported on July 15 that an unknown actor launched six drones targeting Erbil International Airport and the US Consulate in Erbil, Erbil Province. It is unclear whether Iran or Iranian-backed Iraqi militias conducted this attack.
Iran is attacking vessels that have adopted alternative mechanisms to bypass Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran attacked three vessels in the strait on July 13, two of which were doing “shuttle runs,” or repeated short trips to ports outside the strait in order to transport oil through the strait while avoiding Iranian territorial waters.
Iran’s attacks on shipping are having some success in deterring shipping companies from using routes outside Iran’s illegal traffic separation scheme, which advances Iran’s objective of securing control over the strait. Seven maritime security and shipping industry sources told Reuters on July 15 that shipping companies are avoiding using the southern route despite US military escorts, highlighting how shipping companies’ willingness to use alternative routes in the strait is dependent on their risk calculations.