ایران

Tehran’s recruitment of Israelis for military surveillance, sabotage, assassination plots, and other operations is on the rise, showing how the shadow war between the two adversaries continues to evolve even after their recent hot war.

Both before and after the twelve-day war, the Islamic Republic has taken U.S. citizens hostage, necessitating a multifaceted U.S.-led strategy that ends the practice for good.

The Israeli and U.S. military campaigns revealed how far Moscow and Beijing are willing to go (or not go) in their support for Tehran, providing Washington with opportunities to keep Iran in a weakened position.

The axis hasn’t fallen apart—if anything, these countries appear willing to work together even more closely now than before the Iran-Israel war.

While the recent military strikes against its nuclear program may further incentivize Tehran to go for the bomb, they may also complicate such efforts and give Washington more leverage to dissuade it.

The Supreme Leader and his domestic echo chambers have shown a remarkable shift in emphasis from religious authority to full-throated pre-revolutionary nationalism, and Washington should adjust its messaging accordingly.

The two leaders should focus on articulating a vision for a diplomatic agreement with Iran, sketching a common roadmap on Gaza, setting the stage for further Arab-Israeli normalization, and updating the parameters of bilateral strategic cooperation for a new regional reality.

The objectives of Operation Midnight Hammer aligned with the broader U.S. goals of curbing Iranian threats and stabilizing the Middle East—but military force alone will not produce those outcomes.

Although Tehran’s current vulnerability presents important opportunities to counter Russia’s strategic ambitions, Moscow has long retained its influence in the region by purposefully avoiding overcommitment to any one partner.