The bitter reality, however, is that the remnants of the regime are well armed and well entrenched. For years, they have been preparing for a scenario just like the one today. After decades of brutal ...

At China’s Victory Day parade in September 2025, it was not the marching troops or rolling tanks that made headlines, but the next-generation weapons systems on display. Uncrewed ground vehicles, ...

Before the strikes, Iran had warned that it would retaliate, which now backs it into a corner and raises the overall risk level. Even in its weakened state, the regime still has formidable lethal ...

The Islamic Republic of Iran is, quite possibly, at its weakest point since its founding, in 1979. In June, Israeli and U.S. attacks destroyed its uranium enrichment capacity and many of its air ...

They have struck military targets, the residences and offices of Iranian leaders, and sites associated with Iran’s domestic security apparatus and its nuclear program. Iran has retaliated by launching ...

When U.S. President Donald Trump visited Israel in October 2025, he was greeted by the Israeli public and the country’s political leaders as a savior, having brokered a deal to end the war in Gaza.

Ukraine has been putting up valiant resistance, but its determination cannot disguise the fact that it is losing the war. Russia controls a large swath of Ukrainian territory, and Kyiv has little ...

One of the greatest advantages the United States has over China has been its soft power—the ability to persuade other countries, particularly allies and partners, to go along with its wants without ...

CHRISTOPHER S. CHIVVIS is Director of the American Statecraft Program and a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In February 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily suspending enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law prohibiting firms from engaging in bribery ...

NATE SWANSON is Resident Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council. He was Director for Iran at the National Security Council between 2022 and 2025. In the spring ...

And the United States’ vested interest in its allies’ security offered assurance to Japan and other countries that they would be protected if conflict came to their shores. National security leaders ...