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Maps & Graphics

Profile: Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Asaib Ahl al-Haq is a major Iraqi armed group that identifies as part of Iran's axis of resistance but stubbornly maintains a degree of independence, forming numerous cells to conduct kinetic, media, and social operations, some bankrolled by the Iraqi state.

Michael Knights

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Fatemiyoun Electronic Squad

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Fatemiyoun Electronic Squad is a facade group that undertakes cyberattacks on behalf of Kataib Hezbollah, in close collaboration with other affiliates.

Hamdi Malik

Articles & Testimony

Want to Sell F-35s to the UAE? Time to Address the China Factor

To safeguard U.S. national security, the Biden administration needs to hold the UAE to the same standards it demands of other partners in the Joint Strike Fighter program.

David Schenker

Foreign Fighters and U.S. Policy: Tracking Mobilization Hubs to Stem the Flow

By examining the growth of such hubs during the Islamic State’s caliphate years, two experts assess how the international community can limit recruitment in these areas and address local grievances.

Nate Rosenblatt
Naureen Chowdhury Fink

Left: KH-affiliated Kaf posting, January 20, 2021. Right: Announcement on January 20 of a pylon attack to the west of Jurf, Telegram, January 20, 2021.

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Unit 10,000

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Unit 10,000 is Kataib Hezbollah's premier online facade group, specializing in the publication of resistance propaganda and the development of "electronic armies" capable of hacking, information operations, and open-source intelligence gathering.

Crispin Smith
Hamdi Malik

Rijal Allah Claims the Baghdad Airport Attack

Militia Spotlight

A new online facade group has undermined Kataib Hezbollah's conspiracy-laden narrative blaming the April 22 rocket strike on Iraqi Kurds.

Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

The Economic Future of Northeast Syria

Experts discuss the humanitarian, trade, and security measures that are necessary to stabilizing the northeast and preventing the Islamic State and Assad from extending their harmful influence there.

Jennifer Cafarella
Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff
Kenneth R. Rosen

Russian soldiers in Syria

Articles & Testimony

Russia in the Middle East: A Source of Stability or a Pot-Stirrer?

If Washington continues to deprioritize the Middle East, Russia will accelerate its convergence with Iran and essentially determine Syria’s future, which could result in a more explicit and dangerous nexus between these actors.

Anna Borshchevskaya

Can Erdogan Charm Biden?

An expert conversation on the pitfalls and potential areas of cooperation between Washington and Ankara in the coming years.

Soner Cagaptay
Asli Aydintasbas
Max Hoffman
Jenny White

Qods Force deputy commander Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh

Who Is Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh, the New Deputy Commander of Iran’s Qods Force?

A closer look at the general’s service in Syria, his political and military connections, and his potential influence on how the Qods Force carries out future operations abroad.

Ali Alfoneh

An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Usbat al-Thaireen

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Usbat al-Thaireen is the earliest known facade group employed to veil Kataib Hezbollah's culpability in anti-coalition operations, and its eventual shutdown may provide an important case study of such a group's complete life cycle.

Crispin Smith
Michael Knights
Hamdi Malik

Satellite image of the Red Sea region and the Arabian Peninsula

Don't Part the Red Sea: Formulating Holistic Policy Toward a Key Region

A former NAVCENT commander joins a panel of distinguished diplomats and experts to discuss why Washington should approach the region’s disparate economic, political, and security issues in a more integrated fashion.

John Miller
Susan L. Ziadeh
Tibor Nagy
Elana DeLozier

Articles & Testimony

Iran’s Game Plan for Iraq’s Militias

Tehran still regards the full withdrawal of U.S. forces as its ultimate goal, and its Iraqi proxies are more than happy to use escalation for that purpose whenever they can.

Hamdi Malik

al-Sahaba Mosque, Darnah, Libya

In-Depth Reports

'A Caliphate That Gathered': Addressing the Challenge of Jihadist Foreign Fighter Hubs

By devoting resources to areas of concentrated recruitment, the Biden administration can reduce the scope of future Middle East conflicts along with the likelihood that U.S. troops will once again be drawn into them.

Nate Rosenblatt

Articles & Testimony

Bibi “Natanzyahu” Plays Bad Cop on Iran

Washington’s conspicuous silence over the nuclear sabotage at Natanz no doubt stems from the fact that Israel has bought more time for negotiations.

David Pollock

Kokuka Courageous tanker, Gulf of Oman

In-Depth Reports

Deterring Iran in the Gray Zone Insights from Four Decades of Conflict

The United States has repeatedly failed to understand the unique requirements of gray zone deterrence. A U.S. strategy would not only facilitate more successful diplomacy with Tehran but also enhance efforts to counter other actors such as China and Russia.

Michael Eisenstadt

Iranian sailors on board a naval vessel in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran and Israel’s Undeclared War at Sea (Part 2): The Potential for Military Escalation

Although both sides have sought to keep their tit-for-tat maritime attacks under control, they pose a substantial risk of miscalculation and escalation that could jeopardize international shipping.

Farzin Nadimi

An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia

Articles & Testimony

Team of Legal Gladiators? Iraqi Militias’ Tortured Relationship with Law

Iran-backed armed groups hate being exposed as criminals in the eyes of a populace that cares deeply about rule of law, so they have turned Iraq’s legal sector into a battlespace.

Crispin Smith
Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

‘Suspicious’ Blackout at Iranian Nuclear Site Almost Certain to Prompt Retaliation

Israel was silent the last time there was a mysterious explosion at Natanz, but this time Iran is not only being embarrassed, it is being humiliated.

Simon Henderson

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Sabereen News

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Sabereen News is the main media network for all resistance factions in Iraq, but it quietly keeps a unique connection to Asaib Ahl al-Haq.

Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

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