The long rise and sudden death of jihadist leader Abu Maria al-Qahtani
In a significant and surprising turn of events, on the evening of April 5, a prominent Iraqi leader in the Syrian Sunni Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Maysar bin Ali al-Juburi, also known as Abu Maria al-Qahtani, was reportedly killed in an attack in Idlib’s northern countryside.
As Western options narrow, Yemen's anti-Houthi forces vie for US military support
In recent weeks, Yemen’s main anti-Houthi leaders have increasingly been sending the same message to the US, urging it to provide support in the fight against the Houthis on the ground. The provision of military assistance is still hypothetical but seems more and more plausible given developments in Yemen, triggered by the Houthis’ continuing attacks on maritime shipping in the Red Sea.
“Exporting its internal problems”: Understanding Iran’s January missile salvos against its neighbors
In mid-January, with the war in Gaza continuing to rage on, Iran launched a series of surprise missile attacks on its immediate neighbors Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan over two days. Taken together, these attacks illustrate that the Islamic Republic puts regime survival above national interest in its foreign policy calculations, which undermines its efforts to engender solidarity and good relations with other Muslim-majority states in the region.
From Yemen to Palestine: The strategic depth of the Houthi-Iranian alliance
Houthi rhetoric focusing on Palestine underscores the militia’s strategic alliance with Tehran as part of the “Axis of Resistance.” This relationship, central to understanding the Houthi movement’s actions and narratives, frames its position within the larger geopolitical contest in the Middle East.
US response to Tower 22 attack in Jordan: Less intense, more restrained than anticipated
On the evening of Saturday, Feb. 3, local time, US warplanes bombed facilities used by Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, in retaliation for the death of 3 US service members in a Jan. 28 drone attack on Tower 22, a US military base in northeastern Jordan on the Syrian border. The airstrikes primarily targeted locations in eastern Syria and western Iraq.
The implications of Red Sea instability on the global LNG market
Well over 30 attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea have been reported since mid-November 2023, although none have targeted crude oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to date. But that is not to say that global energy flows through this critical maritime chokepoint are invulnerable; any harm that came to hydrocarbon carriers traveling into or out of the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb would have far-reaching consequences for international markets.
On this week’s episode, Director of MEI’s Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism Programs Charles Lister and MEI Editor-In-Chief Alistair Taylor talk about US policy toward Syria. The deadly Jan. 28 drone attack on a US military outpost in northeastern Jordan, near the borders with Syria and Iraq, has drawn renewed attention to the US military presence in the area. This comes against a backdrop of regional conflict and escalation.
Growing unrest in Syria’s Suwayda as Jordanian airstrikes and civilian deaths increase
As the civilian death toll continues to rise, Jordan has come under growing criticism for its airstrikes in southern Syria’s Suwayda Governorate, aimed at combatting drug trafficking and smuggling operations.
The ideological underpinnings of the Houthis’ Red Sea attacks
The Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea are a manifestation of their ideology, rooted in Islamic fundamentalism. Today, aligned with Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” this ideology aims to expel the US from the Middle East, destroy Israel, and institute a worldwide Islamic Caliphate with Jerusalem at its core. The following analysis delves into the ideological framework that propels the Houthis’ actions in the Red Sea and its broader implications.
Last Thursday, military forces from the United States and the United Kingdom struck nearly thirty different locations across Western Yemen to degrade Houthi military capabilities and dissuade the rebel group from further attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. It will take a bit more time to assess the actual damage caused to Houthi radars, missiles, drone launch bases, and command and control facilities and even longer to determine a change in behavior by the Houthis.
