Reinforcing the focus of his trip last week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on promoting U.S. business and economic relationships in the region, President Trump stressed his intent to forge a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran rather than use force against it. At his first stop in Saudi Arabia, Trump […]| The Soufan Center
Iran’s “axis of resistance,” comprised of groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Houthi rebels in Yemen, and mostly Shia militia groups in Iraq and Syria, demonstrates the success of General Qassem Soleimani’s blueprint for spreading Iranian influence throughout the Middle East.| The Soufan Center
On at least three occasions since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Zaidi Shia Houthi movement in Yemen has launched volleys of Iran-supplied land attack cruise missiles and armed drones toward Israel, which is over 1,000 miles from Yemen.| The Soufan Center
By targeting U.S. forces deployed in Iraq and Syria, Iran-backed militias seek to advance Tehran’s objectives of pressuring American leaders to remove U.S. ground forces from countries near Iran’s borders.| The Soufan Center
Over the past five years, Iran has sought to ease tensions with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, which are grouped in a four-decade partnership, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). With the exception of Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters for U.S.-led naval forces and accuses Iran of supporting its Shia Muslim oppositionists, all six […]| The Soufan Center
In the year since the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel and Iran have moved beyond their decade-long “shadow war” of tit-for-tat intelligence operations against each other’s interests to direct conflict bordering on sustained, all-out war. As a consequence, Iranian and Israeli leaders are each searching for “escalation dominance” against the other. Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin […]| The Soufan Center
The actions and responses of Iran’s “axis of resistance” to Israel’s war to remove one axis member, Hamas, from power reflect differing perceptions and calculations among Tehran and its protégé movements.| The Soufan Center