The war with Iran has placed the Gulf states, against their will, at the heart of the confrontation. Iran identified the Gulf states as an “underbelly” and potential lever of pressure on the United States to shorten the duration of the campaign. Nevertheless, despite the Iranian attacks on their territory, they have thus far refrained from openly joining the campaign and have preferred a cautious policy: allowing other forces to operate from their territory while undertaking limited offensive actions with plausible deniability. This...
This interactive map provides a strategic situational overview of the Middle East theater during the joint Israeli-American operation against Iran. It features Israeli and U.S. strikes across the region, Iranian strikes within Arab nations, U.S. force deployments, and Iranian military facilities and bases. Additionally, users can enable an optional layer displaying strikes from Operation Rising Lion for comparative analysis. The map is updated continuously with the highest possible precision, based on open-source intelligence (OSINT)...
This interactive map highlights the deployment of U.S. military assets and other relevant actors in the region. The current U.S. posture signals deterrence and readiness for offensive military operations, while reflecting a strong preference to avoid a protracted conflict. Combined with intensified ISR activity and diplomatic signaling, this configuration supports coercive diplomacy but also increases the risk of escalation through miscalculation in an already volatile theater. The map is updated regularly and as accurately as...
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Overview
The Middle East is undergoing an unprecedented transition sparked by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent regional war. The war in the Gaza Strip provided Iran with its first real opportunity to implement its “unity of the fronts” concept through the simultaneous, coordinated activation of several fronts against Israel and the United States. Iran hoped to avoid direct involvement and the consequences thereof. Ultimately, however, it failed to employ its network of proxies to force Israel to...
Over the past five years, Iran’s activity in the arena of international terrorism has significantly intensified, spreading across vast geographic regions and incorporating criminal organizations in the execution of terrorist operations. Although most Iranian terrorism attempts have been thwarted, there is no guarantee that this success will persist in the future. It is therefore necessary to examine the characteristics of Iran’s use of terrorism in order to improve the chances of countering it.
This memorandum examines...
The major developments that have unfolded in the region since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip—and especially in recent months—require a renewed examination of the relevance of the concept of the “Shiite Axis” led by Iran. Over the past two decades, Tehran has worked to shape a network of regional actors—mainly sub-state entities—based on a shared ideology of resistance to Israel and the West, aiming to expand its influence and create strategic depth. While in the past, this “axis” was considered a centralized and...
Recently, the Houthis have adopted a strategy aimed at exhausting the Israeli population, thereby increasing pressure on the Israeli government to halt its military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Given that Israel’s current approach to countering the Yemeni terrorist organization has been ineffective, it would be prudent to significantly intensify coalition and Israeli efforts against the group’s leadership, as well as its missile production and launch capabilities. Targeting Iran, however, would contradict American interests, risk...
The surprise attack by rebel forces against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is currently shaking the already fragile Syrian arena. Within just a few days, the rebel organizations managed to take control of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, while engaging in widespread attacks on regime forces and their supporters—without effective resistance from the regime, as was the case during the Syrian civil war. Turkey, which supports the rebels, apparently gave them the green light to launch the offensive and is hoping to...
The continuation of the détente trend in the Middle East, coupled with the war between Israel and Hamas, is contributing to Israel’s isolation in the region. In this article, we assess the regional détente implications for Arab countries and highlight the importance of advancing normalization between Israel and these countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to counterbalance Iran’s growing influence and that of its allies, which could endanger Israel.
Since early November 2023, as part of the military response to the Swords of Iron war by the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance,” Shiite militias in Iraq have been launching missiles and UAVs targeted at Israel. These attacks, which have proliferated in recent months, reflect a shift in the patterns of the militias’ terrorist activity by the militias, which for years mainly attacked American forces in Iraq and Syria. Given this development, it is crucial for Israel and the United States to coordinate their response to this common...
The war in Gaza has provided further evidence for the alarming consequences of the escalating confrontation between Iran and Israel. For the first time, Iran has used the Hamas attack and the war to implement its strategy of simultaneously activating its regional network of allies and proxy organizations against Israel. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has adopted an anti-Israeli position. However, the escalating friction between the two states, especially during the last decade, has evolved from a primarily ideological to a...
