The first set of talks between the United States and Iran in nearly a year took place in Oman on February 6 amid mutual mistrust and fears that diplomacy may fail and give way to a renewal of war in the Middle East. Last June, Israel attacked its arch enemy, Iran, bombing its nuclear and […]
This was the moment Israel had been waiting for with profound anticipation. On January 26, the Israeli army announced that the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage in the Gaza Strip, had been found. With this momentous announcement, Israelis unburdened themselves of a trauma that had weighed on them for the past two years. […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unyielding in his refusal to create a state commission of inquiry to investigate Hamas’ one-day invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the worst military and intelligence failure in Israel’s history. Claiming the lives of roughly 1,200 people and resulting in the abduction of 251 Israelis and foreign nationals, […]
There was a discernible disconnect between U.S. President Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric to intervene in Iran’s anti-government protests and his failure to act on his threats. According to Iran Human Rights, at least 3,428 Iranian protesters were killed and thousands were injured during the nation-wide demonstrations. Convulsing the country for about two weeks from December […]
The Islamic Republic of Iran has weathered another wave of anti-government protests, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on January 12. By his reading of the volatile situation, the regime has seized “total control” of the streets. His claim has yet to be verified, but, as the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War indicates, […]
As 2025 draws to a close, Israel’s volatile conflict with its arch enemy, Iran, is simmering ominously and threatening to boil over again in another war. Six months after Operation Rising Lion, its 12-day war with Iran, Israel is increasingly concerned that the Iranian regime is expanding its stocks of ballistic missiles and rebuilding its […]
Israel’s security cabinet, acting on a resolution proposed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, announced earlier this month that 11 new settlements will be built and 8 illegal outposts will be legalized in the West Bank. Smotrich, a settler himself and an ardent champion of the settlement movement beyond the pre-1967 […]
A pragmatic voice of reason was heard in Lebanon a few days ago. Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji went out on a limb and minced no words when he criticized Hezbollah and Iran, both of which have destabilized Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbor, for the past four decades. Rajji, in fighting words, declared that Lebanon’s security […]
President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza Strip peace plan, approved by the United Nations Security Council on November 17, has not advanced beyond its first and least difficult phase. Its second and most problematic phase will not be addressed until 2026. The plan is grounded in a ceasefire that ended the two-year Israel-Hamas war, which caused […]
A year ago, on December 8, President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime in Syria fell like a house of cards and was immediately replaced by an Islamist government led by Ahmed al-Shara, a former jihadist affiliated with Al Qaeda. It was a defining moment in Syria, an Arab state misruled by the Assad family for more […]