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Iran’s Execution Frenzy
Iran has unleashed one of its deadliest waves of executions in more than a decade, as human rights groups warn that the death penalty is being used to silence dissent and instill fear. Activists say the surge reflects a deliberate campaign by Tehran to tighten control amid internal unrest and external pressures. The charges remain…
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Israel’s Silent War in Southern Syria
On the winding dirt roads between Daraa and Quneitra in southern Syria, Israeli forces patrol the area from time to time, while other units set up temporary checkpoints and carry out raids and arrests deep inside Syrian territory. The scene has become familiar since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December, marking a new…
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Iran Prepares for Next War with Israel
Amid conflicting newspaper headlines and a tense public mood, Tehran appears caught between two fraught choices: showing weakness and risking internal unrest, or projecting strength and risking war. Yet signs are mounting that the Islamic Republic is preparing for a second round of conflict with Israel. In a phone interview with Alhurra, an opposition member…
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Iran – Israel: A Conflict Reset
At first, the confrontation played out through proxy arenas in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, as Israel and Iran traded blows from behind the scenes. Then, the confrontation escalated. In April 2024, an international interception network thwarted a large-scale attack launched from Tehran. Israel responded with airstrikes on several sites, most notably near Isfahan, a…
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Two-State Solution.. in Yemen
Once divided along Cold War fault lines, for over two decades Yemen was split between an anti-communist North and a Soviet-aligned South. The two sides united in 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, into a single republic that promised stability, but soon unraveled into conflict. Now, amid a grinding civil war and deepening divisions, one southern general is…
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Israel, Iran, and the Future of Middle East Security: A Conversation with Avner Golov
In Tel Aviv, the walls of Dr. Avner Golov’s office still bear the marks of an Iranian missile strike only weeks earlier. For Golov, Vice President of MIND Israel and a former Senior Director of Israel’s National Security Council, the confrontation with Iran is not distant or theoretical. It is daily life. In a recent…
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Israel’s Other Normalization Story
While the Abraham Accords marked five years this week amid familiar debates in the Gulf and Levant, another story is unfolding further north. From Baku to Tirana, Muslim-majority states in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus are forging ties with Israel that blend history, trade, and diplomacy in ways often overlooked. Across this region, shaped by…
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Why Iraqis Are Fighting in Ukraine
At a restaurant in downtown Moscow, Iraqi national Abbas al-Manasir was scrolling through his phone when he noticed a glowing advertisement with a QR code. The link led him to a Russian-language message calling on foreigners to join the Russian army in exchange for a salary and citizenship. This was not what he had in…
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Syria and Israel’s New Reality
Syria’s relations with Israel have undergone a dramatic shift since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa to power last December. What once seemed unthinkable has moved beyond speculation. Concrete steps are visible: diplomatic activity is already unfolding in Washington, Paris, Baku, and Riyadh. Yet the prospect of a comprehensive…
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The Strike on Doha and the Post–October 7 Equation
The sounds of explosions are no longer confined to Gaza or southern Lebanon. In Doha – where Qatar has long hosted rounds of negotiations between Israel and Hamas – Israeli warplanes carried out an unprecedented strike targeting Hamas leaders. Doha condemned the “cowardly attack,” Gulf capitals quickly warned of its repercussions, and U.S. President Donald…