Iranian Regime Network
By Exploiting Local Corruption, State Facilitators and Hezbollah Operatives Convert Regional Lawlessness Into Strategic Infrastructure
Appeasing Extremists and Terror Sponsors Seldom Brings Peace
Iran’s Ability to Command or at Least Align with Proxy and Client Forces Across the Middle East and Beyond Remains Its Most Significant Tool of Power Projection
Iranian Influence in Iraq Operates Through Overlapping Security, Political, and Militia Networks That Reinforce One Another
If Negotiations Produce an Agreement That Reduces Pressure on Tehran, the Regime Will Prioritize Rebuilding Its Security Capabilities
Because Iraq’s Political System Cannot Police Itself, Washington Should Focus on State Officials Who Enable Sanctioned Networks
Hezbollah Is Still Smuggling Thousands of Rockets and Drones Into Lebanon from Syria and from Iran Through Iraq
If Iran Follows Parts of the Memorandum of Understanding, It Will Not Necessarily Lead to Broader Moderation
But New Rules Could Stop LuaLua TV from Promoting Hamas, Hezbollah
Iran’s Influence Is No Longer Operating Merely Alongside the Iraqi State, but Increasingly Through It
Trump’s Interim Iran Deal Could Give Tehran The Power To Disrupt The 2026 Midterm Elections
Trump May Describe the Agreement as a Sign of Iran’s Absolute Surrender, but Such Spin Has No Resonance in Lebanon
The Movement Presents Itself as a Pragmatic Lebanese Institutional Force, but It Remains Entangled with Hezbollah’s Power
The Problem Is That Hezbollah Continues to Pose an Existential Threat to Israel
We Fought the Islamic Republic for Thirty-Nine Days and We Were Winning. The Memorandum in Islamabad Hands That Victory Back. And It Sells the Iranian People to Do It.
Iran-Backed Armed Groups Long Have Used Religious Narratives to Recast Coercion as Duty, Sacrifice, and Defense of Religion
Iran Demands That Any Agreement on the Strait of Hormuz and the Nuclear Program Include a Cessation of Israeli Operations Against Hezbollah
The Obstacle to Peace Between Israel and Lebanon Is an Armed Non-State Militia Actor—Hezbollah—That Pledges Allegiance to Iran and That Wants to Stay Dominant in Lebanon
Jerusalem Has Made Clear That Tehran’s Insistence on Linking Any Deal to a Ceasefire in Lebanon Will Not Constrain Its Response to Hezbollah Attacks
The Middle East Forum Stands by Its Mission and Will Not Be Intimidated