Iran isn't giving up on regional domination just yet
Despite the crippling US sanctions on its economy, Tehran is continuing its efforts to surround Israel with missiles and hostile forces, with a new focus on Iraq.
Analysis
In game of cat and mouse, Iran goes to ground
Despite Israel's intensive efforts – mainly in Syria, but now allegedly in Iraq as well – Iran doesn't appear to be eschewing its plan to arm Hezbollah or build forward operating bases in Syria for its forces. Thus, both sides will likely continue, into the foreseeable future, adhering to the unwritten rules of the game they are playing.
Bottom-up foreign policy proves effective way to challenge BDS
Pro-BDS bills “stand no chance of success. State capitals are a far more functional place right now than Washington, and states have compelling economic interests to defend their own state economy,” says Joseph Sabag, CEO of the Israeli-American Coalition for Action.
Does Bahrain expect returns on its now-public association with Israel?
"There’s a growing awareness among Gulf states that Israel will be a good partner and ally for them to bolster regional security against the persistent Iranian threat," says Varsha Koduvayur, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.
Trump's 'maximum pressure' campaign on Iran faces key test
President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran is at a crossroads. His administration is trying to decide whether to...
Iran playing a dangerous game in the Gulf
Emily Landau, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, warns that America must stand firm and “not relent,” saying the Trump administration needs to understand how the regime can “twist things, making it seem there are concessions when there are absolutely no concessions at all.”
Can Israel's new left-wing alliance shift the political landscape?
The Democratic Union, the new mega-faction formed by ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Meretz and Labor party defectors looks to “set Israel back on the correct path,” but another political motive is also clear: "We couldn't risk parties in our camp falling below the Knesset threshold," says former Labor MK.
Can the Right do the right thing?
This week's election merger between Ehud Barak's party and Meretz is good news for the Left and a headache for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But ultimately, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman will be the one to tip the scales after the election.
Power struggles over post-Abbas era rage under the surface, for now
"Mahmoud Abbas’s predecessor, Yasser Arafat, operated in a similar manner, appointing several deputies and preventing any of them from amassing too much power, even encouraging occasional rivalries between them," says Prof. Boaz Ganor, founder and executive director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya.
Who bombed the Iranian missile batteries in Iraq?
While there is no proof Israel was behind last week’s attack on an Iraqi military base, its message was quite clear: The stationing in Iraq of Iranian ballistic missiles is unacceptable.