Terrorism

Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq are improbably trying to distance themselves from drone strikes in northern Iraq, including multiple attacks on U.S. oil investors.

The rudderless group is drifting between those who argue for cutting its losses and those who believe it can still hold onto power in Gaza by playing the hostage card well and securing patchwork assistance from abroad.

The latest attacks make clear that the international community must guarantee the freedom and safety of all ships transiting the Red Sea, combining a permanent military mission with assistance from regional countries and private security firms.

Tehran’s Iraqi proxies mostly sat out the twelve-day war, but this pragmatic restraint will not forestall growing U.S.-Iran competition over Iraq’s airspace, economic partnerships, and other sectors.

After giving Lebanese officials a much-needed ultimatum for disarming Hezbollah and implementing financial reforms, Washington is now in danger of letting them once again punt these all-important tasks.

Iraq is more stable than it has been in decades but still faces enormous security and energy challenges, including the risk of spillover from Iran-Israel hostilities, dependence on unreliable Iranian gas amid untapped domestic opportunities, an untested Syrian government, and the unrelenting Islamic State threat.

Although definitively identifying the group responsible for the bombing may take more time, authorities in Damascus and Washington already have more than enough information to beef up their security cooperation and reassure Syrian minorities that they won’t be targeted.

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.

The Trump administration claims it is prioritizing efforts to combat the organization, but funding cuts threaten to undermine vital operations.