The Lebanese Council of Ministers agreed on August 7 to the objectives of US Envoy Thomas Barrack’s proposal to disarm Hezbollah.[1] The proposal’s objectives include a phased plan to completely disarm Hezbollah by December 31, 2025, and to ensure an Israeli withdrawal from its five permanent positions in southern Lebanon.[2] …

Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group stands at a pivotal juncture, forced to weigh its future amid unprecedented US pressure to relinquish its weapons following a costly war last year that eroded its longstanding dominance over Lebanon’s security decisions. The Iran-backed militant group, which has dominated Lebanese politics and security since Israel’s …

In recent weeks, protesters in cities across northeastern Syria have taken to the streets to condemn the violence in the Druze-majority province of Suweida and call for justice. Over 800 people were killed in the southeastern province last month during clashes between Druze factions and government-backed Bedouin forces. “Kurds see …

As the starvation of Gaza gains increasing global attention, Israel has rushed to explain it away as an “unfortunate byproduct of war” or a “logistical failure”, rather than a well-documented deliberate policy of weaponising hunger. Israel’s instrumentalisation of food and water, however, did not start on 8 October 2023, when …

In late July, Turkish defense contractors used the 2025 International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) to showcase the latest additions to the country’s arsenal. Headlining the event were two striking developments: the “Tayfun Block-4” hypersonic ballistic missile and the “Gazap” bunker-busting, non-nuclear thermobaric bomb. Both weapons, now within the Turkish military’s …

A bill, H.R.3883 (Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization Act of 2025), was put forward on June 10, 2025 by US Senator Ted Cruz, “[to] require the Secretary of State to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization.” This designation is crucial for both US and international security. …

Saša-Dordević-Money-trail-How-violent-extremism-in-the-western-balkans-is-funded-GI-TOC-June-2025.2Download

Fabian-Zhilla-Hired-guns-or-ideologues-Returing-foreign-fighters-and-military-trained-persons-in-the-Western-Balkans-July-2025Download

Walter-Kemp-Ioannis-Vlassis-and-Oliver-Gnad-Danger-ahead_-Scenarios-for-the-future-of-organized-crime-in-the-Western-Balkans-GI-TOC-August-2025Download

Iran’s highest national security and foreign policy decision-making body, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), established a Defense Council on August 3 to streamline decision-making during wartime.[1] The establishment of this body, which will operate under the SNSC, likely reflects Iranian leaders’ recognition of systemic operational failures during the Israel-Iran …