The limited outcomes of the two recent wars with Iran in terms of eliminating nuclear and missile threats have reinforced the perception in Israel that regime change in Tehran is the ultimate solution to the Iranian threat. However, while the Islamic Republic is facing a series of severe crises, its collapse is not necessarily imminent. The wars, external pressure, and the brutal suppression of the latest wave of protests have generated fatigue and despair among the Iranian public, alongside a rally around feelings of solidarity,...
Democrats in Congress remain divided over arms sales to Israel, AIPAC, and whether to call Israel’s conduct in Gaza a genocide. On issues concerning the West Bank, however, a consensus is forming. Democratic lawmakers have rallied behind five measures concerning settler violence and settlement expansion: the West Bank Violence Prevention Act, introduced in both chambers to restore the Biden-era sanctions that President Trump revoked; a Senate resolution demanding a State Department report on Israeli human rights practices in the West...
Changes in Lebanon’s leadership and Hezbollah’s weakened position following the war with Israel appear to have created an opportunity to shift the country’s internal balance of power through extensive aid to revive its economy and strengthen its sovereignty. Beyond the challenges posed by Lebanon’s deep systemic economic crisis, the main concern is that aid could also benefit Hezbollah, which is firmly embedded in Lebanon’s deep state and its security and civil institutions. The main conclusion of this article is that Lebanon...
Between September 23 and 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Washington—his second meeting this year with President Donald Trump. The visit was marked by elaborate ceremony and modest deliverables that buy both leaders time ahead of their upcoming political challenges: a brief extension of the trade war truce, new dialogue mechanisms, a joint statement on Iran, and the scheduling of two additional meetings before the year’s end. The two superpowers are managing their rivalry through a differentiated approach:...
Several foreign actors are targeting Israeli social media, particularly ahead of the October 27 Knesset elections. The most prominent actors are Iran; the Isnad network, which operates from Turkey and is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood; and the Russian influence operation Doppelgänger. They differ in their resources, structure, and motives.
The various actors are believed to share a common goal: eroding public trust in state institutions and the electoral process, as well as trust between different segments of society....
The war with Iran has sharpened the tension between the objectives of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Washington seeks to reduce its permanent military presence in the region and transfer greater responsibility to its allies, yet finds itself compelled to commit substantial military resources to address the ramifications of the war and preserve regional stability. The campaign illustrates that reducing the permanent deployment of forces does not guarantee a reduction in the costs of U.S. involvement, particularly when crises require...
The cumulative experience of Arab states in advancing collective security reveals a persistent gap between the proliferation of alliances, coalitions, and joint organizations and the depth of the security commitments they generate. Regional states are willing to declare solidarity, but their willingness to act on behalf of their partners and bear the resulting costs depends on how closely their threat perceptions align, the relevance of the issue to their particular national interests, and the cost of taking action. The current...
This article examines how political parties confront antisemitism among candidates and elected officials and analyzes the tools available to them in determining the boundaries of political legitimacy. Focusing on the case study of the British Labour Party, the article demonstrates how Britain’s centralized party structure and external regulatory oversight made it possible to treat antisemitism within the party not as a collection of individual incidents, but as a phenomenon governed by institutional accountability. By contrast, the...
In recent years, Brazil has become an increasingly important arena for Iran and Hezbollah, where religious and cultural influence, diplomatic engagement, diaspora networks, information operations, and financial infrastructure intersect. This article examines how these seemingly distinct activities can form a broader ecosystem that enables influence, fundraising, recruitment, and potentially covert operations. Attention is given to Iran’s religious outreach through Al-Mustafa International University, Hezbollah-linked networks...
The BRICS summit held in New Delhi in September 2026 demonstrated the organization’s gradual evolution from a forum based primarily on declarations and political and economic coordination into a framework that is also developing practical mechanisms in technology, industry, health, agriculture, and space. For China, this process carries additional significance: BRICS enables it to advance ideas and initiatives originating in Beijing within a multilateral framework it does not control, thereby contributing to the internationalization...
The rapid development of artificial intelligence capabilities is broadening the way China defines the risks posed by this technology. Alongside espionage, cyber threats, and familiar national security threats, Beijing is increasingly addressing the risks originating from advanced AI systems themselves—including autonomous operation and loss of control. At the same time, technological lag and dependence on foreign technologies are also perceived as risks to national security. Official publications from September 2026 show that...
