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A highway bridge in Tehran displays images of nuclear scientists killed during Israeli strikes against Iran in June 2025 - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
The Bigger Picture in the Iran-Israel Conflict: Russia, Missiles, Militias, and More
Watch an expert conversation examining regional and global implications of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
Jun 20, 2025
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Michael Knights
  • Farzin Nadimi
  • Assaf Orion
Nuclear centrifuges in Iran
Articles & Testimony
The United States May Destroy the Fordow Enrichment Plant. It Won’t Make the Iranian Nuclear Threat Go Away.
The risk of nuclear breakout is probably greater today than before Israel’s military campaign, and simply taking out Fordow would not stop the regime from using suspected secret sites to produce nuclear weapons.
Jun 17, 2025
◆
  • Richard Nephew
MS-Sabereen-WarGraphic-Cover
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi Militias Show Cohesion and Restraint During Iran-Israel War
The self-styled "resistance" is probably being held in reserve in case the United States joins the war, with militias noticeably restraining themselves so far.
Jun 19, 2025
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Key Outside Actors in the Iran-Israel Showdown:
A Compilation of Washington Institute Assessments
Experts assess the roles that various actors may seek to play during and after conflict, including Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, Palestinian factions, and international powers such as China, Russia, and the EU.
Jun 18, 2025
◆
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Noam Raydan
  • Michael Knights
  • Ghaith al-Omari
  • Grant Rumley
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Souhire Medini
Articles & Testimony
Why Israel’s Attack on Iran Has Been a Success
Just as with the Hezbollah missile threat in Lebanon, completely eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat is not the best yardstick for Israel’s current campaign.
Jun 17, 2025
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Emergency crews work at the scene of an Israeli air strike in Tehran in June 2025 - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
From Diplomacy to Military Force: The Future of Iran’s Nuclear Program
U.S. and Israeli experts assess the quickly evolving situation as the IDF continues striking targets across the country, Tehran retaliates with missile salvos, and the international community mulls how best to contain the crisis.
Jun 17, 2025
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Zohar Palti
  • Dennis Ross
  • Dana Stroul
A sign in Tehran displays images of officials in Iran's nuclear program killed in Israeli airstrikes in June 2025 - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Can Israel Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Program?
A closer look at the technical indicators that experts and officials will be looking for to determine whether Israel’s campaign is setting the program back, and how much.
Jun 14, 2025
◆
  • Richard Nephew
Brief Analysis
Israel Strikes Iran: Initial Assessments from Washington Institute Experts
A compilation of analyses on the military and nuclear impact of Israel’s initial strikes, Tehran’s response options, the Trump administration’s next steps, public reactions inside Iran, and more.
Jun 13, 2025
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Patrick Clawson
  • Dana Stroul
  • Holly Dagres
  • David Schenker
Articles & Testimony
Why the Right Hates the National Security State: The Historical Roots of Trump’s Assault on the NSC
The breaking of the national security state is indeed a crisis, but it also represents an opportunity to build a compromise approach tailored to the world’s present-day threats, similar to the situation policymakers faced immediately after World War II.
Jun 11, 2025
◆
  • Michael Singh
MS-UAB-cover
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
New Evidence of Real-World Attacks by Uli al-Baas
The group's name has been making the rounds for months, but videos and other actual evidence of its claimed attacks against Israel are only now beginning to emerge.
Jun 10, 2025
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun reviews soldiers at the presidential palace in Beirut - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
The Next Era of Israel-Lebanon Relations? Ceasefire Status and Political Prospects
Three experts examine the security and political situation six months after the ceasefire agreement was signed, including the implications for next year’s Lebanese election, Palestinian refugee camps, and eventual normalization with Israel.
Jun 9, 2025
◆
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Assaf Orion
  • Ghaith al-Omari
Qais al-Khazali's declassified interrogation file
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Qais al-Khazali Praises His “Honorable” Role in Murder of Americans
The senior political and "resistance" figure is still trying to legitimize the cold-blooded murder of unarmed Americans in the 2007 Karbala raid.
Jun 5, 2025
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Articles & Testimony
Russia’s Defense Ties in the Middle East Poised to Rebound
Demand for Russian weapons has hardly disappeared—MENA officials would see even a limited or temporary Ukraine deal as a green light to quickly take advantage of Moscow’s new supply chains, so Washington should prepare accordingly.
June 2025
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Matt Tavares
Brief Analysis
Reducing the U.S. Presence in Syria Too Quickly Could Help the Islamic State
Besides testing Syria’s new authorities on a mission they are not yet ready to handle by themselves, Washington also has an unprecedented chance to curtail the group in areas that were difficult to reach under the old regime.
Jun 4, 2025
◆
  • Ido Levy
Brief Analysis
Nuclear Talks and Iran’s Missile Program: Addressing the Overlooked Arsenal
Given Iran’s unchecked missile buildup since the last nuclear deal, any future agreement should include enforceable limits on the development and stockpiling of long-range missiles to ensure lasting regional security and nonproliferation.
Jun 3, 2025
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Harakat al-Abdal armored vehicles and flags
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Harakat al-Abdal
An inveterate opponent of the United States and Israel, the enigmatic Harakat al-Abdal may have become an entirely Qods Force-operated, Syria-based entity years ago, posing questions about where its fighters now reside and what became of its PMF status in Iraq.
Jun 2, 2025
◆
  • Sary Mumayiz
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
A man holds a newspaper featuring a photograph of U.S. President Trump and his Middle East advisor, Steve Witkoff, in Tehran - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Is a Good Iran Deal Possible?
If carefully negotiated and given enough time to demonstrate results, a new deal could prevent a crisis in the near term and create a foundation for regional stability down the road.
May 26, 2025
◆
  • Richard Nephew
A United Nations peacepeeker scans the terrain in southern Lebanon - source: Untied Nations
Brief Analysis
UNIFIL’s Fork in the Road
The time for inertia is over—this summer, Security Council members will have a rare and urgent chance to break the spell of illusory “peacekeeping” and advance a model that actually helps keep the peace between Israel and Lebanon.
May 29, 2025
◆
  • Assaf Orion
Syria's acting president Sharaa greets U.S. President Trump in Riyadh in May 2025 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Setting Expectations with Syria on Countering the Islamic State
After an encouraging Trump-Sharaa meeting, Washington and its partners must now facilitate the complex work of creating timelines and implementing new security arrangements to constrain the jihadist group.
May 27, 2025
◆
  • Devorah Margolin
President Donald Trump meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Will Trump Dump Netanyahu? Here's When Israel Will Find Out
A ten-year memorandum of understanding lapses during the president’s term, and he will have to decide whether negotiating a new deal serves American interests.
May 26, 2025
◆
  • Dennis Ross

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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.
Michael Knights
Michael Knights
Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to Iran-backed militias.
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley is the Meisel-Goldberger 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 a 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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