1) The Counter-Extremism Group think tank has published a report titled ‘Islamist Antisemitism: A Neglected Hate’.
“This report demonstrates the futility of attempts to rationalise Islamist antisemitism as a response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Throughout the history of the Islamic world, Jews were a marginalised group frequently subjected to severe persecution. After the First World War, antisemitism became an ideological rallying point for many Islamists and proto-Islamists in the Middle East. These extremists recognised that the national self-determination movement known as Zionism could enable the region’s Jews to break free of their longstanding subordinate status – an outcome which they sought to prevent.”
2) The ITIC reports on “Iran’s Use of Surface-to-Surface Cluster Missiles as a Manifestation of State Terrorism”.
“The recent Israel-Iran War revealed an additional aspect of Iran’s use of terrorism against Israel, involving the direct firing of surface-to-surface missiles at population centers. Iran deliberately targeted the home front despite its claim that the missiles allegedly targeted strategic installations and military bases.
The most glaring example of Iranian surface-to-surface missile terrorism was the use of the Khorramshahr-4 missile, publicly unveiled in Iran in 2023, defined as a long-range strategic ballistic missile which carries approximately 80 small cluster bombs, which scatter indiscriminately and cause extensive damage. During the war, Iran conducted the missile’s first operational use, causing widespread damage.”
3) At Just Security, Matthew Levitt discusses “Assessing Iranian Intentions and Capabilities”.
“On June 10, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kurilla similarly referred to the “looming threat” of Iranian nuclear armament. Khamanei had not made the final decision to produce a nuclear weapon, he noted, but Iran stood so close to the finish line that if the Supreme Leader decided to sprint to a nuclear weapon, Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium—some 25 kilograms—for up to ten nuclear weapons in three weeks.
According to Israeli intelligence, Iran had begun this sprint toward a weapon and would soon reach “the point of no return.” Not only had the Iranians fast-tracked their enrichment process, as documented by the IAEA, but they did so in “decentralized and fortified enrichment compounds in underground facilities…enabling the regime to obtain a nuclear weapon within a short period of time.” According to Israeli intelligence, the Iranian regime made a decision to “fly” toward a nuclear weapon capability to compensate for the loss of Hezbollah leadership and missiles last fall.”
4) At the JISS, Dr Emmanuel Navon explains how “Diplomacy Has Never Prevented Nuclear Proliferation”.
“Following successful Israeli strikes against Iran’s nuclear plants, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot claimed that only diplomacy can prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. The historical record suggests otherwise.”
5) At the Fathom Journal, Adam Sacks analyses “Iran, Intellectuals, and the Far-Left”.
“Adam J. Sacks chronicles the history of left and left-adjacent attraction to Islamist ideology. From early Soviet accommodation with political Islam – in sharp distinction to its attitude to Christianity and Judaism – to Foucault’s embrace of the Khomeini revolution in Iran, Sacks probes the irony of these accords coming from leftists, ‘whose antipathy to religion is presumably a part of their intellectual tradition.’”
6) At Syria Direct, Walid Al Nofal looks at “Turkey in Syria: Temporary necessity turned permanent presence?”
“As Turkish-linked commanders with dubious human rights records are commissioned as officers and appointed to top military positions in Syria, questions arise over the future of Ankara’s influence in the state and its armed forces.”
