Iran has not only been threatening the US with attacks, it has attacked US assets in Syria and Iraq 83 times since Biden became president, and at least 24 times in the past two weeks. Iran also recently threatened again to annihilate Israel, and has reportedly begun ordering its elite militias based in Syria into southern Lebanon “to participate in attacks on Israel.”
As war rages in Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to escalate, causing grievous harm to civilians and threatening stability across the Middle East. Crisis Group experts offer a 360-degree view of how various capitals in the region view this crisis and their own interests therein.
It is an understatement to say that the United Nations, as an idea and in action, is inherently flawed – particularly when trying to keep the peace.
Israel’s war on Gaza and recent ceasefire calls personify this reality, highlighting persistent deficiencies in the rules-based international order.
Moscow’s relationship with the militant group Hamas is part of a Middle East strategy meant to boost its standing in the Global South: an effort that has long involved building ties with both Israel and its sworn enemies.
At last, a book that attacks the “Blob” and holes it below the water line. Whether it can sink it is another matter. I’m talking about a book published by Harvard Professor of International Affairs Stephen Walt, “America’s Foreign Policy Elite and the Hell of Good Intentions”. Some have called this elite, the “Blob”.
The criminal clerical regime ruling Iran is pleased with ongoing war in the Middle East and the killing of innocent civilians. The mullahs see this humanitarian disaster as a barrier against the uprising of the Iranian people and as a means of ensuring their own survival. On the other hand, this regime seeks to overshadow the internal crises of its bankrupt regime, the explosive conditions of society, and the protests of the people.
Tehran’s Strategy to Weaken Israel and Divide the Region
Almost from the moment that Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, foreign policy analysts began fretting about Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials have stated there is no evidence directly linking Iran to the attack, and some U.S. intelligence sources have suggested that Iranian leaders were caught off-guard. But there is little doubt that Tehran considers it a major victory that Hamas was able to dupe Israeli intelligence and pull off such a large-scale operation. Iran does not hide its strong support for Hamas, and it has outwardly praised the attack.
To those born in the 20th century, the phrase “Never Forget” carries an entirely different meaning than it does today. Back then, the rallying cry was most associated with the Holocaust. Today, it is linked to the events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. When pro-Palestinian protestors on college campuses chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” one wonders how many young people could tell you what river and what sea? Do they understand it as a fierce antisemitic call to eradicate Israel and its people from the Holy Land? For that matter, how many would be able to define the word Holocaust? If education is the key to knowledge, then young Americans rallying on behalf of the pro-Palestinian cause are sorely lacking.
At the recent European Summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government did not make the call for “humanitarian pauses” conditional on the release of the Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
Israel has entered “a new phase in the war” against Hamas in Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has sent tanks and other ground forces into Gaza and kept them there while continuing its intense artillery attacks and aerial bombardment, but for now it has held off on an all-out ground invasion. It is not clear if there will ever be a formal D-day for such an operation, but Israel is steadily increasing its ground operations within Gaza, conducting raids into the strip and severing telecommunications there.