Seth J. Frantzman

The absence of leadership is leading to questions about who might be the real decision maker in Tehran now. One name being mentioned is Ali Larijani. Who is Larijani, and why does he matter?

A country was brought silent by war with Iran as first responders and the IDF Home Front Command deal with the impacts from Iran’s arsenal.

Iran's attack might have the opposite effect, bringing Gulf countries closer together and enabling cooperation with the US and among themselves.

MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS: Kurdish groups in Iran and Iraq have faced incredible hardships. They have persevered. Now they sense that their moment has arrived.

In the past, some Kurds were able to seek refuge in Iran during Saddam Hussein’s genocidal poison gas attacks. However, the Iranian regime has been persecuting Kurds over recent decades.

Iraqi Shiite militias linked with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including Kataib Hezbollah and other Popular Mobilization Forces groups, were targeted in Israeli strikes, local media claims.

For decades, Iran has targeted and killed Americans and US allies. Its proxies took hostages. It attacked ships in the Gulf of Oman. Now, America is responding.

This is an important new contribution to the discussion about what comes next for Israel and the Middle East, rooting Israel’s strategy in Israel’s history and in the West.

The militia's threat came as the US Embassy in Israel said it had authorized the departure of non-essential personnel on Friday.

Months of US diplomacy paved the way for a historic detainee swap between Damascus and the Druze of Sweida, marking a breakthrough in Syrian peace efforts.