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Military & Security

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Close-up photo of Chinese leader Xi and Russian leader Putin.
Video
Brief Analysis
Great Power Competition During (and After) the Iran War
Join us for an in-depth conversation examining how Beijing, Moscow, and European capitals are navigating the Iran crisis and what their choices reveal about the future of the global order. Watch live starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
March 18, 2026, starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT)
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Souhire Medini
  • Henry Tugendhat
  • Grant Rumley
Photo showing Ukraine's President Zelensky greeting Saudi officials on the tarmac.
Brief Analysis
Washington Should Jump on Ukraine’s Outreach to the Middle East
By offering military expertise and technology to the Gulf states, Kyiv has given the U.S. government a unique opportunity to counter Iran and Russia while boosting the security of American partners and forces in the region.
Mar 13, 2026
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Matt Tavares
Israeli Iron Dome missiles intercept rockets fired into Israel from Gaza by Hamas in October 2023 - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
Countering Threats from Iran’s Proxies and Partners During Wartime
Three experts discuss how Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis, and pro-Iran militias in Iraq have reacted to the war so far, outlining steps Washington and its regional partners can take to keep them from escalating further.
Mar 13, 2026
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  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • April Longley Alley
  • Michael Knights
A satellite map with political borders overlaid shows Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Examining the Terrorism and Insurgency Links Between AfPak and Iran
The two conflicts may appear unrelated, but an al-Qaeda haven in Iran, threats from the Islamic State, and separatist ambitions could supercharge the risks to regional and global security.
Mar 12, 2026
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Articles & Testimony
A Levant Without Militias?
For the first time, the region is on the path to sidelining militias and reaping the potential stabilization benefits, though significant obstacles remain.
Mar 10, 2026
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  • David Schenker
A map shows the routes of ships into and out of the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
Energy and Shipping Risks in the Iran War
Four experts explain why reversing the conflict’s effects on oil and gas production and tanker traffic from the Gulf will likely take much longer than many people realize, with only limited supply alternatives in the meantime.
Mar 9, 2026
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  • Lauren Holtmeier
  • Matt Smith
  • Richard Nephew
  • Tomer Raanan
US Army troops board transport helicopters
Articles & Testimony
Alternative Security Models for Syria Amid U.S. Pullout
By using Syria’s newfound resources as a coalition member and negotiating military assignments at the U.S. embassy, the two governments could offset many of the concerns raised by the withdrawal of American combat units.
Mar 7, 2026
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  • James Jeffrey
Brief Analysis
Great Power Spillover from the Iran War: Implications for China, Russia, Turkey, and Europe
Washington Institute experts explain what U.S. officials and military planners should be on the lookout for as great power competitors and close allies outside the region consider their responses to the crisis.
Mar 6, 2026
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  • Grant Rumley
  • Henry Tugendhat
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Soner Cagaptay
  • Souhire Medini
A USAF F-35 launches a missile in flight - source: Department of Defense
Brief Analysis
Assessing U.S. Progress in the Iran War
While the United States and Israel are winning based on measures like the degradation of Iran’s naval force and missiles, a broader victory will require securing domestic support and avoiding the maximalism that has hindered past American military efforts.
Mar 6, 2026
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  • Michael Singh
Map of Iran's Natanz nuclear facility after Israeli military strikes.
Articles & Testimony
The Abiding Question of the Iranian Bomb
The nuclear program is still the paramount threat, and both of the main options for permanently ending it are unpalatable—but Washington needs a plan nevertheless.
Mar 5, 2026
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  • Richard Nephew
Mojtaba Khamenei - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
What Kind of Supreme Leader Would Mojtaba Khamenei Be?
Given his strong ties to the IRGC, Khamenei’s son might pursue extreme strategic options.
Mar 5, 2026
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  • Patrick Clawson
  • Farzin Nadimi
Smoke rises after an Iranian strike in Bahrain on March 2, 2026 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
War Comes to the Gulf
With Iran seemingly intent on continuing its strikes against Gulf targets and regional leaders mulling whether and how to respond, what can policymakers and military planners expect to see next in terms of likely target sets, risks to civilian areas, concerns over air defense munition supplies, and potential repercussions for energy and commercial shipping interests?
Mar 3, 2026
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  • Elizabeth Dent
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Noam Raydan
  • April Longley Alley
A flight deck crewman directs operations of an F-35 jet on board the USS Abraham Lincoln - source: Department of Defense
Video
Brief Analysis
The U.S. and Israel Strike Iran
Read or watch urgent insights into America’s objectives in Iran and the policies that would best advance U.S. security, help the Iranian people, and improve the prospects for long-term regional stability.
Mar 2, 2026
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  • Holly Dagres
  • Dennis Ross
  • Dana Stroul
  • Robert Satloff
Brief Analysis
Epic Fury and Roaring Lion: From War Scenarios to Pressing Postwar Questions in Iran
Washington Institute experts assess the immediate implications of U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran, including the regime’s future after major leadership losses, reactions inside Iran and Lebanon, the fallout for the Gulf states, the contours of potential diplomacy once the fighting stops, and more.
Mar 1, 2026
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  • Assaf Orion
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Holly Dagres
  • Patrick Clawson
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • April Longley Alley
  • Richard Nephew
Articles & Testimony
On the Paris Conference to Support the Lebanese Army
The international community has held nearly a dozen donor conferences to support Lebanon’s insolvent military and economy, but they all failed, largely because the country has not made the hard decisions necessary to help itself.
Feb 27, 2026
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  • David Schenker
Articles & Testimony
Hezbollah Is Winning the Race to Rearm in Lebanon
To gauge the true effectiveness of the LAF's disarmament effort, one must go beyond the number of patrols, raids, and seized weapons and take a hard look at what it has done—and not done—to search private property, target underground facilities, stop cross-border smuggling from Syria, and transparently dispose of armaments.
Feb 26, 2026
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  • Matthew Levitt
A man holds a newspaper featuring a photograph of U.S. President Trump and his Middle East advisor, Steve Witkoff, in Tehran - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Trump’s Best Options on Iran: Limited Strikes and Continued Military, Economic, and Diplomatic Pressure
Rather than choose between a narrow nuclear deal and open-ended war, the United States should conduct limited military strikes against Iran’s missile program and security services and double down on a pressure strategy that was working.
Feb 25, 2026
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  • Michael Singh
U.S. President Trump walks with Israeli President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu after arriving in Israel - source: The White House
Brief Analysis
On War with Iran, a U.S.-Israeli Division of Labor?
Believing that conflict is more likely than a diplomatic deal and that Israel will be involved in the fighting, Jerusalem has been intimately coordinating its military planning with Washington despite certain differences in their policy priorities.
Feb 25, 2026
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  • Michael Herzog
Israeli F-15I fighters, a U.S. B-2 bomber, and Iranian Shahab-3 missile
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
Deterrence and Escalation Dynamics with Iran:
Insights from Four Decades of Conflict and a Twelve-Day War
The conflict in June 2025 laid bare longstanding misconceptions about escalation management with the regime and could hold lessons as the United States contemplates further military action.
Feb 20, 2026
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  • Michael Eisenstadt
A photo illustration shows US and Iranian flags and an atomic symbol - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
A “Good Deal” with Iran? Requirements for Preventing a Future Nuclear Breakout
Setting aside the broader array of deep Western policy concerns about Iran—including its terrorism sponsorship, direct and proxy aggression against Israel and the Gulf states, and brutal violence against its own people—what nuclear terms would negotiators have to insist on to avoid the setbacks of the JCPOA process and keep the regime from acquiring nuclear weapons for the long term?
Feb 12, 2026
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  • Zohar Palti

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Supported by the

Military and Security Studies Program

The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program has established itself as an unrivaled source of reliable, incisive, and forward-looking analysis concerning several of the most critical national-security challenges facing the United States today: The U.S. military role in the Middle East, Iran's nuclear program and its proxy armies, the ongoing conflict is in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, the regional proliferation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction, the security dimensions of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and many other security issues on the frontline of the U.S. policymaking agenda.

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Featured experts

Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Senior Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley is the Meisel Family Senior Fellow and Director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Elizabeth Dent - source: The Washington Institute
Elizabeth Dent
Elizabeth Dent is the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where she focuses on U.S. foreign and defense policy toward the Gulf states, Iraq, and Syria.
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