Policy Analysis

Given its willingness to dramatically change targets and tactics, the group likely aims to halt the recent advance of Arab-Israeli normalization and rouse other actors into joining the fight.

The Iraqi "resistance" is using language that previously presaged attacks on U.S. targets, whether sincerely or as a supportive bluff amid the latest Hamas-Israel crisis.

The depth of the president’s commitment greatly impressed Israelis, though a protracted Gaza war could test sentiments on both sides.

The October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel represent a turning point that should bring home oft-overlooked realities about the Middle East and compel U.S. policymakers to rethink preconceptions about the region and America's role and interests in it.

A closer look at the political and security dilemmas that Arab leaders will face as the Hamas-Israel war intensifies.

Iraq's "resistance" militias all rhetorically supported the attack on Israel, but with interesting differences: Badr threatened Americans, while others seemed to downplay potential involvement.

Veteran U.S., Palestinian, and Israeli experts and policy practitioners explore the broader strategic repercussions of the unfolding war, as well as the factors that enabled Hamas to reach its current level of malign regional influence.

The differences and parallels between urban battlefield circumstances in Gaza, Iraq, and Syria give U.S. policymakers a sobering but clear view of what exactly they will be committing to in supporting Israel’s ground campaign.

The Biden administration views its defense support to Israel as sufficient at the current level of hostilities, but that may change as the war progresses and, potentially, expands.

The group might be content with its existing political gains from the conflict, but Washington should still try to shift its calculus given the grave risks of a wider war.

آنچه را واشنگتن تنش‌زدایی می‌پندارد، تهران فرصتی برای تحکیم دستاوردهای هسته‌ای خود می‌بیند و از شفافیت می‌پرهیزد و طوری موضع‌گیری می‌کند که هر زمان بخواهد از آستانه تسلیح اتمی عبور کند.

The long-suffering residents of Gaza deserve a better future, but getting there will require the international community to demilitarize Gaza after the war and disarm whatever is left of Hamas.

Despite the completely surprising nature of the attack, Hamas did in fact give multiple signals that a major operation was in the works.

هرچند واشنگتن از هرگونه کاهش تنش استقبال می‌کند، اما باید هشیار باشد که آشتی در منطقه خاورمیانه ناشی از کاهش اعتماد به ایالات متحده است.

An in-depth look at how regional states have responded to Putin's invasion of Ukraine—by their actions as much as their words.

As Morocco rebuilds the High Atlas Mountains, understanding the region’s complex history and challenges is key for building a future for the region.

Recent Washington Institute polls have tracked Gazans’ views on Hamas and the ceasefire with Israel, along with a wider regional decline in popularity for Hamas and Hezbollah.

As the IDF deals with residual infiltrators in the south, it is already clear that the lessons of the surprise 1973 war need updating.

Recent developments will require the U.S. to expand its objectives in Syria and to reevaluate its approach to local alliances if it hopes to shape a positive outcome to the bubbling frustrations in Syria.

Historians continue to debate “what if” scenarios about the pivotal conflict that reshaped the Middle East.