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Iran’s Shattered Ring of Fire: What Next?
With Hezbollah in Lebanon in disarray and Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria gone, Iran’s carefully constructed “Ring of Fire” around Israel has all but collapsed. The question now: does Tehran try to revive it, or pivot to a new playbook? For decades, Iran’s Middle East strategy has been built on a web of militias –…
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ISIS Women of Hisbah: A Ticking Bomb
Behind the barbed wire of al-Hol camp in eastern Syria, more than 27,000 people remain trapped in limbo—most of them women and children linked to the Islamic State. To aid workers and local officials, the camp is nothing less than a “ticking time bomb.” Ordinary displaced families live side by side with hardline ISIS loyalists.…
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Lebanon is cracking down on Hezbollah – with an assist from Israel
The Israeli military and the Lebanese government have dramatically expanded intelligence-sharing since November 2024, helping Lebanon to escalate its long-running crackdown on Hezbollah. The intensified cooperation is the direct result of Israel’s large-scale attacks on Hezbollah operatives and targeted killings of senior Hezbollah officials in the fall of 2024. The Israeli attacks have re-ordered the…
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Islamist Extremists Are Winning the Argument about the Decadence of the West
Muslims in the West today face a real predicament: “their Islam is being hijacked,” according to writer and thinker Ibrahim Eissa. Currents of political Islam, he argues, impose intellectual isolation, dominate pulpits and mosques, and claim sole authority to represent Muslims—under the banner of “Islamic exceptionalism.” Why does the Muslim in the West succeed in…
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Iraqi Militias Intensify Civil Recruitment Amid U.S. Pressure
“Civil Mobilization” Plays Expanding Intelligence Roles, Potentially Mirroring Iran’s Basij.” The call was made last June by an Iraqi lawmaker affiliated with an armed faction close to Iran. The call is not new. Two years ago, there were attempts to establish an ‘Iraqi Basij.’ What is new, however, is that the efforts of armed Iraqi…
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Olmert to MBN: Netanyahu Got ‘Almost Nothing Right’ on Gaza
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has launched sharp criticism at Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its handling of the Gaza war, urging a sweeping regional solution that includes recognition of a Palestinian state. In an interview with MBN, Olmert argued that Israel must have taken bold steps, including opening discreet backchannel talks with Iran and…
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Starlink and Yemen’s Digital Sovereignty: Who Holds the Keys to the Internet?
Most Yemenis won’t be able to read this article! “My friend Khaled al-Faqih, a content creator in Lahj governorate, southern Yemen, told me – his voice brimming with surprise and delight – ‘This is the first time I’ve uploaded a full video without the internet cutting out halfway.’” He was describing his first experience with…
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How Mossad’s ‘Foreign Legion’ Breached Iran’s Nuclear Program
For more than two decades, Iran’s nuclear program has been one of the most pressing threats troubling decision-makers in Israel. In confronting these threats, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has emerged as a powerful force in the covert battle to sabotage the project and prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Israel has adopted a…
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The Tragedy of the “Only Version” of Islam
In his weekly show on Alhurra, Writer Ibrahim Essa discussed the concept of “moderate Islam.” The following is the episode’s text, re-edited for easier reading. We constantly hear the phrase “moderate Islam,” and we are told, “This institution represents moderate Islam,” or “This imam or sheikh speaks for moderate Islam.” But is there truly such…