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Interactive Map: Maritime Attacks in the MENA Region

Explore this new interactive tool to shed light on the actions of actors such as Iran and Yemen's Houthis that have threatened and attacked commercial shipping in the waters off the Middle East and North Africa.

Access the map.

Screenshot of a map showing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Maps & Graphics

Iran Is Still Intent on Preventing a Return to the Old Navigational Order

Constricted traffic patterns, escalating warnings, uncertain mine threats, and a new drone attack all suggest that Tehran has no intention of willingly going back to business as usual in the Strait of Hormuz, regardless of diplomatic breakthroughs.

Jun 26, 2026

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Noam Raydan

Haibat al-Halbousi (R), Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi (L) at the parliament building ahead of a parliamentary session for a confidence vote on the cabinet formed by al-Zaidi - source: Reuters

Mr. Al-Zaidi Goes to Washington

Despite significant progress, Iraq still has a long way to go to meet the Trump administration’s expectations for reining in Iranian influence.

Jul 13, 2026

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David Schenker

Emergency personnel respond to a terrorist knife attack in London in 2026 - source: Reuters

A Ceasefire Won’t End Iran’s Terror War on Europe

Even if Washington resumes negotiations, Tehran will keep sending its proxies to commit attacks, buy weapons, and establish sham charities on the continent, so European governments must crack down harder.

Jul 9, 2026

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Michael Jacobson

Secretary of State Marco Rubio presides as Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States sign an agreement in Washington - source: Reuters

Operationalizing the Trilateral Framework Agreement

The framework's success will largely depend on the creation of a U.S.-led, third-party verification system to avoid the shortcomings experienced with previous agreements, bolstered by effective intelligence support and international financing.

Jul 15, 2026

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Matthew Levitt

Flags of Iran, Hezbollah, and Lebanon are seen at a Quds Day celebration in Tehran - source: Reuters

Hizballah’s Deep State: The Real Challenge of Disarmament in Lebanon

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.

Jul 15, 2026

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Hanin Ghaddar

3 Things to Watch: The Iran Ceasefire

As the U.S.-Iran ceasefire shakes, here are three things former Pentagon official and Institute Meisel Family Senior Fellow Grant Rumley is watching: First, Iran's proxies. Tehran's regional network of terrorist groups and militias is battered but not gone. Second, will Washington shift its military targeting inland, away from coastal areas tied to the Strait of Hormuz? And third, what role will the Israelis play in new hostilities?

Institute Expertise on the Iran War

Holly Dagres

A widely cited scholar, Institute Libitzky Family Senior Fellow Holly Dagres has published groundbreaking scholarship on social media use by young Iranians. Curator of The Iranist Substack newsletter, she has been featured in interviews across radio, television, and print, including the Associated Press, BBC News, CNN, NPR, Fox News, and The New York Times.

Noam Raydan

Noam Raydan, The Washington Institute's William Sudhaus Senior Fellow, studies topics related to energy and maritime risk in the Middle East. She is a co-creator of the Institute's interactive map of maritime attacks in the Middle East since 2017.

Dennis Ross

Ambassador Dennis Ross, the Institute's Counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, played a leading role shaping U.S. Middle East policy in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations.

Dana Stroul

Formerly the top civilian official responsible for the Middle East at the Pentagon under President Biden, Dana Stroul is Director of Research and Michael Kassen Senior Fellow at the Institute.

Subscribe to receive the latest Washington Institute policy analysis in your email inbox.

Interactive Maps

Screen shot of the Maritime Attacks in the MENA Region interactive map

Maritime Attacks in the MENA Region (Since 2017)

Shed light on the actions of actors such as Iran and Yemen's Houthis that have threatened and attacked commercial shipping in the waters off the Middle East and North Africa.

Screenshot of the Hezbollah External Operations Interactive Map

Lebanese Hezbollah Select Worldwide Activity

Access this interactive map to explore an open-source database of Hezbollah global operations and break through the terrorist organization's "Golden Rule" of secrecy.

Screenshot of the Islamic State Worldwide Activity interactive map

The Islamic State Select Worldwide Activity

Explore the most comprehensive public archive of Islamic State attack data, media output, government designations, and legal cases to understand the organization’s global reach,

Screenshot of the Iran External Operations interactive map

Iran External Operations 1979-present

Access this powerful interactive tool, which maps over forty-five years of Iranian clandestine operations around the globe.

Video: America and the Middle East at 250 with Dr. Martin Kramer

Historian Martin Kramer, the Walter P. Stern Fellow at The Washington Institute, explains how America's early leaders navigated the republic's first encounters with the Middle East—and hears some echoes of today's policy dilemmas.

Recently in Fikra Forum

A satellite map with political borders overlaid shows Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan - source: Reuters

Fikra Forum

After War, a Crackdown in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province

Recent crackdowns against Iran's Baloch minority over tensions around mining in the province suggest that the rift between the regime and many Baloch is deepening in the post-war period.

Jul 8, 2026

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Samand Muhammadshahi

Fikra Forum

The Iran War's Pressure on the Egyptian Pound: Fragile Stability and Expected Shocks

The Egyptian pound is weathering significant challenges to its stability as the Iran war continues to impact oil markets and Egypt's revenue streams, raising concerns about the longterm impact of continued conflict.

Jun 10, 2026

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Heba El Koudsy

Sanctions and Sudan’s Muslim Brotherhood: Decoupling Burhan from Sudan’s Islamists and Iran

Sanctioning Sudan's Muslim Brotherhood will likely have an impact on Burhan's approach to the group, but a true decoupling will

Apr 17, 2026

In Syria, an Amnesty Decree Without Justice?

The debates sparked by Decree No. 39 raise questions about how the country will bridge the troubling gaps between official

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Arab Public Opinion 2014 to Today

Fikra Interactive Public Polling Platform Thumbnail

Maps & Graphics

TWI Interactive Polling Platform

Interactive datasets, from 2014 to today

Jun 30, 2022

In Focus: Iran

Montage: Presidents Sisi (Egypt) and Putin (Russia) at the 2024 BRICS summit; a woman holds a Russian flag in Istanbul; a Russia House cultural center in Syria; a map image superimposing Russian flag over Africa/Middle East.

Video

Russia, the Iran War, and the Middle East

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.

Jul 10, 2026

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Keith Kellogg
Anna Borshchevskaya
Matthew Tavares

A Ceasefire Won’t End Iran’s Terror War on Europe

Jul 9, 2026

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Michael Jacobson

$300 Billion for Iran? Don’t Expect Much Impact

The heftiest portion of the theoretical financial windfall discussed in the U.S.-Iran agreement is unlikely to materialize, let alone have

Jul 7, 2026