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A witching hour deal and the morning after: The Iran-P5+1 nuclear deal
Representatives of the P5+1 and Iran with EU High Commissioner Catherine Ashton, 24 November 2013 (Photo: US Department of State) The nuclear deal inked in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1 at 0300hrs...
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Intelligence brief: Qatari aid, finance and foreign policy in Sudan
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir shakes hands with his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Deby, as Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani looks on after the official signing of a peace accord between...
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How Israel should approach Iran’s nuclear programme
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations General Assembly, 27 September 2012 (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images) The historic agreement signed between Iran and the P5+1 last...
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Intelligence brief: The use of barrel bombs by the Syrian government
The aftermath of an alleged barrel bomb attack on Daraya, southwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus, 5 February 2014 (Photo: Fadi Dirani/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are a type of improvised...
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Iran: The Ayatollah succession question
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei recently underwent prostate surgery, following recurrent rumours that he suffers from some form...
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Kobane, and the failure of Turkey’s Kurdish policy
Kurds along the Turkish-Syrian border watch airstrikes on Kobane (Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images) The stateless Kurdish people have attracted increased international attention recently as the...
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Yemen’s security situation continues to deteriorate following number of...
Shabwah province, 474 kilometres east of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, found itself drawn back into the international public eye following the failed rescue attempt of US and South African hostages,...
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US demands for democratic reform in Egypt likely to take backseat to national...
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi introduced a presidential decree in October 2014 that sought to bring those accused of acts of violence, material damage against public facilities or affiliated...
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Bibi’s upset comeback
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech to supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv (Photo: Reuters) After a last minute electoral upset, Israeli Prime Minster Benyamin...
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National security decision-making in Iran
This article for Comparative Strategy reviews national security decision-making in the Iranian context by focusing on institutions, formal process and individuals. It specifically examines the Supreme...
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Parsing Iran’s grand strategy
The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani When it comes to understanding a state’s grand strategy, that is, the calibration of intentions and the sum of capabilities to assure its relative position within...
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UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Briefing #1
An RAF Tornado GR4 Summary of main points During November, the Royal Air Force assisted Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State around Sinjar, Iraq. Four attacks using Paveway IV guided missiles, one...
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Transnational organised crime monthly briefing: Islamic State’s income from...
Islamic State (IS) is the world’s largest terrorist organisation. It controls territory in Iraq and Syria (and to a lesser degree Libya) that is larger than the United Kingdom. And it is capable of...
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UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Intelligence briefing #2
An RAF Tornado GR4 Summary of main points During December 2015, the RAF assisted Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State in and around Haditha, Ramadi and Fallujah and Kurdish forces fighting in Mosul,...
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Rouhani’s moment of truth
Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani gives the opening speech during Iran’s Assembly of Experts’ biannual meeting in Tehran, 6 March 2012 (Photo: Raheb Homavandi/Reuters) How the coming Assembly of...
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UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Intelligence briefing #3
An RAF Tornado GR4 Summary of main points UK forces continue to be very active in Iraq, but have also increased offensive operations in Syria. The majority of UK airstrikes continue to be opportunist...
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UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Intelligence briefing #4
An RAF Tornado GR4 Summary of main points A nationwide ceasefire began in Syria at 22:00 on 27 February greatly reducing the levels of violence in the country. The ceasefire halts attacks against...
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UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Intelligence briefing #5,...
An RAF Tornado GR4 Summary of main points From 8 March to 7 April, the US-led coalition carried out 478 airstrikes against IS forces in Iraq and 141 against those in Syria. As in previous months, UK...
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The war with Islamic State: An assessment of the United Kingdom’s Operation...
An RAF Tornado GR4 The day before the 2 December 2015 vote by the UK parliament to extend UK airstrikes against Islamic State from Iraq to Syria, Open Briefing published the first in a series of six...
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