Iran

Tools of Terror: Iran’s Growing Ballistic Missile Threat

The Islamic Republic of Iran possesses the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and Tehran is working hard to increase its size and quality by pursuing improvements in precision, range, mobility, warhead design, and survivability. That’s one of the conclusions drawn by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu in his major new FDD Monograph, "Arsenal: Assessing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program."
Leveraging an impressive array of English and Persian-language sources, Behnam has produced one of the most comprehensive publicly available assessments to date of Iranian ballistic missile program. In it, he warns that we should expect more missile attacks and transfers from Iran in the future.
In his foreword for the monograph, Vice Admiral (Ret.) James D. Syring, Former Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, writes that Behnam’s “findings and recommendations will stimulate a productive policy discussion regarding the steps Washington must take to counter the rising Iranian ballistic missile threat.”
So, what are the origins of Tehran’s ballistic missile program? How has it evolved? What are its current capabilities? How does the Islamic Republic view and use its missile arsenal? And what should the U.S. and its allies and partners do about it?
To discuss these questions and more, Behnam and Lieutenant General (retired) H.R. McMaster — soldier, former White House National Security Advisor, and Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power — join CMPP Senior Director and guest host Bradley Bowman.
 
 

Junipers, Oaks, and Killer Tomatoes

The United States and Israel conducted the Juniper Oak 23 multi-domain military exercise in late January. The Pentagon calls it the “largest” and “most significant” bilateral U.S.-Israel exercise in history.
This exercise comes as the Islamic Republic of Iran deepens its relationship with China and Russia, continues to export terrorism, inches toward a nuclear weapon, and expands the missile means to deliver a weapon of mass destruction to its target.
So, what was this military exercise all about? What makes it unique? Why does it matter? What comes next?
Filling in for Cliff May, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power Bradley Bowman asks Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot.
Lt. Gen. Gregory Guillot is the Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, which is the Pentagon’s regional combatant command responsible for the Middle East. CENTCOM was established a few years after the  revolution in Iran in 1979 and views deterring Iran as its number one command priority.
Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot
General Guillot received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989 and has commanded a flying squadron, operations group, and two flying wings. Most recently, he served as the commander of the Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), Combined Force Air Component Commander within CENTCOM. He’s a senior air battle manager with more than 1,380 flying hours.

Guarding Contested Skies

China, Russia, Iran, North Korea — not to mention the persistent threat from terrorist organizations. The United States confronts an extraordinary array of threats, with many of our adversaries working together more closely than ever.
So, how should we respond? What kind of military do we need? And how can we ensure the United States continues to possess the most formidable air force in the world?
To discuss these questions and more, guest host Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), filling in for host Cliff May — is joined by U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Michael A. Loh.
He’s the Director of the Air National Guard where he is responsible for formulating, developing, and coordinating all policies, plans and programs affecting over 108,000 Air National Guard Airmen and civilians across 90 wings and 180 installations in 159 communities throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. He has served our country for decades in uniform, including as an F-16 instructor pilot and group and squadron commander — and he has deployed many times to combat.

Got Nukes?

During the Cold War, one of the few issues on which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed, was that other states should not have nuclear weapons. The likelihood that one of them would use those weapons – or transfer them to a regime or group that would was too great.
This was called the principle of non-proliferation. It was regarded as an established norm of international behavior, expressed most explicitly in the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons -- better known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT.
Is it still in force or relevant or even meaningful? What is being done to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons – as well as chemical and biological weapons – by regimes hostile to the United States and its allies?
FDD has a new Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program attempting to answer such questions and provide policy options.
Chairing the program is Ambassador Jackie Wolcott, former U.S. representative to the United Nations in Vienna and the U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Charles Kupperman, who served in senior positions in both the Reagan and Trump administrations, is a member of the program’s board of advisors.
They join Foreign Podicy host Cliff May to talk about nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. 

From Malmo to Jerusalem

Jonathan Conricus was born in Jerusalem but grew up in Sweden. His family returned to Israel when he was 13 years old. A few years later he joined the Israeli Defense Forces, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as the IDF’s international spokesman.
He joins Foreign Podicy host and FDD founder and president Cliff May to discuss his life, career, what it was like dealing with the journalistic herd, and – now that he’s retired from the military – opine on some of the Middle East’s many conflicts and controversies.
Also joining the conversation is Jonathan Schanzer, FDD’s senior vice president for research at FDD whose most recent book, Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War, challenges – and corrects – some of the major media’s inaccurate reporting on that conflict.

The Moment Israel Was Born

Israel is the world’s only Jewish-majority state and the only surviving and thriving Jewish community that remains in the Middle East.
Despite that — or, maybe, because of that — Israel has many enemies.
 You may think you know how this unique nation-state was born, but history, like science, is never settled. 
Jeffrey Herf, a Distinguished University Professor of Modern European History at the University of Maryland, has cast a fresh and scholarly eye on Israel’s origins, and turned his research into a new book: “Israel’s Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945 – 1949.”  
Today, he joins host Cliff May in FDD’s studio along with Jonathan Schanzer, FDD’s senior vice president who reviewed Professor Herf’s book for the Jerusalem Post.

Iran’s 2022 Revolution

Refusing to be silenced, even by brutal crackdowns, the freedom-seeking people of Iran have now surpassed six weeks of nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman murdered by the so-called "morality" police.
Filling in for host Cliff May, FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht is joined by Mariam Memarsadeghi — founder of Tavaana and the Cyrus Forum — to discuss why this round of protests is different and how "what we're watching this time around is a revolution."

Building the Air Force the U.S. Needs

North Korea is again launching missiles, Iran continues inching towards a nuclear weapons capability, Russia is escalating its aggression in Ukraine, and China is sprinting to field a military capable of invading Taiwan and defeating any effort by Washington to intervene.
Considering these extraordinary threats, what kind of Air Force does the United States have — and what kind of Air Force does it need?
Which aircraft should be retired, and which should be fielded without delay?
The Air Force oversees two legs of the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad. So, with Russia and North Korea rattling their nuclear sabers, what about bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles?
Would the Air Force also have a role in sinking ships in a contingency in the Taiwan Strait?
What does the war in Ukraine tell us about the importance of Air Force capabilities?
To get answers, FDD's Bradley Bowman — filling in for host Cliff May — asks Lieutenant General Richard G. Moore of the U.S. Air Force.
Lieutenant General Richard G. Moore
Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at the United States Air Force, where he focuses on building the Air Force of the future to support the National Defense Strategy. 
Bradley Bowman
Bradley Bowman is the Senior Director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).

The modern Middle East’s most accomplished dictator

Since 1989, Ali Khamenei has been the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He has outlasted and outplayed everyone else within the first revolutionary generation. His men now control all the critical institutions in the state. He out-negotiated the United States and western Europe in nuclear talks despite severe sanctions. He has pushed Iran's atomic program ever closer to a bomb. He defeated the United States in Iraq.
And, as has become even more obvious as the Iranian people repeatedly rise up in nationwide protests against the theocracy, he has also pushed Iranian society to a breaking point.
Filling in for host Cliff May is FDD senior fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, and he's joined by Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations to discuss "the most accomplished — and, perhaps, most consequential — dictator in the middle east since World War II, Ali Khamenei."

Michael Gordon’s Wars

Host Cliff May says Wall Street Journal‘s Michael Gordon is, “without a doubt, one of the best reporters I’ve ever known — and I’ve known many reporters over many years.”
Decades ago, they sat in the same bullpen at The New York Times’ Washington bureau, where Cliff says Michael, “covered defense, national security, and international affairs better than anyone else in town.”
Michael has reported on numerous conflicts, both from inside Washington where the decisions are made and from the battlegrounds where the blood is spilled.
He has served as a Times bureau chief in Moscow, and as a roving correspondent based in London. He’s currently a national security correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.
A few years ago, he was Writer-in-Residence at FDD where he worked on his most recent book: Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, From Barack Obama to Donald Trump.In this episode, Michael joins Cliff for a discussion on America’s fight against the Islamic State.

Connecting the Dots from Tehran to Gaza

Israel’s latest armed conflict was with a group that calls itself Islamic Jihad, or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or PIJ.
It’s supported, armed, and trained by the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
To learn more about this American-designated terrorist organization, how badly it was set back by the missiles of August, and what Iran’s rulers might do to build it back better, host Cliff May is joined by FDD Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz, who was in Israel during the three-day battle, and by FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer. Jon, who is also the author of Gaza Conflict 2021: Israel, Hamas, and Eleven Days of War, closely followed reporting on the fighting in English, Hebrew, and Arabic.

The Life and Death of Emir al Zawahiri

Ayman al Zawahiri, emir of Al Qaeda, is no more. He was reportedly on the balcony of what he thought was a “safe house” in one of Kabul’s more upscale neighborhoods when two missiles fired by the CIA from a Hellfire drone ended his life — almost 21 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and almost one year after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and capitulation to the Taliban.
To discuss Zawahiri's career and killing and what's next for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Afghanistan, and the global jihad, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by FDD senior fellow and editor of FDD’s Long War Journal Bill Roggio and senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) Bradley Bowman.
 

Joe Biden in the Jewish State and the Saudi Kingdom

A couple of weeks ago, Joe Biden went to Israel and Saudi Arabia. This was not a summer vacation. The president had goals. Did he achieve any? Did he set any back?
Foreign Podicy host Clifford D. May poses these and other questions to Michael Singh and Hussain Abdul-Hussain.
Michael Singh
Michael is the Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute. From 2005 to 2008, he was senior director for Middle East affairs at the White House National Security Council.
He’s also served as special assistant to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell and at the U.S. embassy in Israel.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Hussain is a research fellow at FDD. Formerly a managing editor of Beirut’s Daily Star, he has reported from war zones in Lebanon and Iraq. He headed the Washington Bureau of the Kuwaiti daily Alrai.
He’s been a Visiting Fellow with London’s Chatham House, and he’s published in numerous Arabic and English language publications, including in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The Lands in Between

In addition to following Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, host Cliff May has also been trying to understand what’s going on in "the lands between" – the lands between Russia and Western Europe; lands that Vladimir Putin would like also to include in his empire or, failing that, in his sphere of influence.
And this just in: The Islamic Republic of Iran, just south of what were the borders of the Soviet empire, is assisting Putin in his aggression. Curious, no?
To discuss these and related issues, Cliff is joined by Dr. Ivana Stradner, who serves as an advisor to FDD’s Barish Center for Media Integrity, and by Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at FDD and an expert at FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP).

Turkey and America: Can This Marriage Be Saved?

Not so long ago, Turkey was widely regarded as the bridge between the Occident and the Orient, between Christian Europe and the Muslim Middle East. Turkey separated mosque and state. Turkey was a NATO member. Turkey was economically dynamic despite not having oil. Turkey seemed to be democratizing.
That’s not how many of us see Turkey today under the increasingly authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Michael Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of its Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East. He’s served as a senior director on the National Security Council, a senior advisor in the State Department, and a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Pentagon. He has a doctorate from Princeton, and he’s the author of “Ike’s Gamble,” a thoughtful re-examination of the Suez Crisis of 1956.
FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Middle Eastern specialist at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, was, for some years, based in Turkey.
Reuel and Foreign Podicy host Cliff May agree with Dr. Doran on most issues — but not on Erdogan. They discuss the root of their disagreement in this episode.

Nonproliferation, Biodefense, and National Security

Jackie Wolcott previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna and as U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Anthony Ruggiero is the former White House National Security Council Senior Director for Counterproliferation and Biodefense.
Together, they are behind the wheel of FDD’s newly launched Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program — serving as Chair and Senior Director, respectively — where they’ll lead the Program’s efforts to prevent America’s adversaries from possessing and developing weapons of mass destruction (perhaps chief among the most pressing national security issues that we face).
Both join FDD Senior Advisor and former White House National Security Council Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction Richard Goldberg — filling in for host Cliff May — to discuss the Program’s timely objectives and the very hard work they’re going to tackle.

Deal or No Deal: Confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran the Reagan Way

FDD experts have worked for more than a decade on the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
As part of a multi-pronged strategy, FDD has shared nonpartisan research and analyses with policymakers, lawmakers, and the business community.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is slated to hold its first public hearing on the theocratic regime in more than two years with administration officials and top experts, and they have invited FDD’s Mark Dubowitz – who founded our Iran program – to testify as an expert witness.
He joins Foreign Podicy host Cliff May — along with FDD’s Rich Goldberg, who recently served on the National Security Council as the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction; and FDD’s Toby Dershowitz who has played a significant role in shaping and messaging policies to counter the threats from Tehran — to discuss the impending Iran nuclear deal.

Why They Fight

Russia's war in Ukraine underscores, among other things, the urgency of boosting Taiwan's military readiness. Meanwhile, many Americans remain bitterly divided on what role of the U.S. should be in the world, and, therefore, on how strong America's military power ought to be.
To discuss these and other pressing issues facing the U.S. and broader free world, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by experts from FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) — LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster and Bradley Bowman.
LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster formerly served as the U.S. National Security Advisor and was a commissioned officer in the United States Army for 34 years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018. He's a historian, an author, and a pundit. He now serves as the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution — and he also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).
Bradley Bowman is a West Point Graduate, who served as an active-duty U.S. Army officer, Black Hawk pilot, and top advisor to two U.S. Senators. He is also now with FDD's Center on Military and Political Power where he serves as the Center's Senior Director.

An Israel Briefing

Russia ravages Ukraine. China eyes Taiwan. North Korea prepares a nuclear test. And negotiations for a new — and worse — iteration of President Obama’s deeply-flawed Iran nuclear deal remain on life-support.  
The rules-based, American-led order is hanging in the balance — and although they weren’t granted a seat at the negotiating table, Israel currently faces a unique threat with a build-up of Iranian weapons at almost each of its borders.
Unlike with the Americans at the negotiating table, the theocratic regime in Tehran doesn’t want Israelis to submit — they want Israelis to perish. And also unlike the U.S., Israel takes this existential threat both literally and seriously.  
Inside its borders, meanwhile, there’s been new wave of terrorist attacks in recent weeks as tensions in Jerusalem again approach boiling.
All this as we reach the one-year mark since the Gaza conflict of 2021.
Filling in for host Cliff May, FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer (who literally wrote the book on last year’s conflict) is joined by Brigadier General Jacob Nagel — a Senior Fellow at FDD and former acting Israeli National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu (and who also contributed to the Hebrew edition of Jon’s book) — to discuss these and related issues.

Disinformation Wars

"A well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny." Thomas Jefferson said that or something close to it. But what happens when tyrants misinform us or — worse — disinform us?
To help us understand disinformation and its consequences, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by three FDD scholars: RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI); Emanuele Ottolenghi, FDD Senior Fellow; and Ivana Stradner, Advisor to FDD's Barish Center for Media Integrity.

“Pivoting” and Other Foreign Policy Delusions

There’s a dangerous — even reckless — new Iran nuclear accord that appears to be nearing the finish line in Vienna. Meanwhile, the Biden White House is struggling to wield the right set of policy tools to bring Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine to end. The White House wants to put both of these challenges in the rear view so that it can pivot to, and focus on, a looming great power competition with China. But is America exhibiting the attributes of a great power? Shouldn’t a superpower be able to deftly address multiple threats simultaneously?
Today, guest host Jonathan Schanzer (FDD’s Senior Vice President for Research) is joined by FDD Senior Fellow and former CIA operative, Reuel Marc Gerecht, as well as Ray Takeyh, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. They’ll discuss two recent articles by Reuel and Ray — one in National Review: “Saving the Ayatollahs: Biden’s Unwise Iran Policy,” and the other in the Wall Street Journal: “The Folly of the Pivot to Asia.”

Mike Waltz: Warrior Diplomat and Congressman

Michael G. Waltz served as a Green Beret in the Middle East and Africa, and commanded a Special Forces company in the mountains of Afghanistan.
He served as a counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney, and director for Afghanistan policy in the office of the Secretary of Defense.
He is the author of a marvelous 2014 book: Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan, the proceeds of which continue to benefit the Green Beret Foundation.
He was also – we’re proud to say – a non-resident senior fellow at FDD years ago.
He now serves in Congress, where he’s a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He continues to serve in the National Guard.
He joins Foreign Podicy host Cliff May to talk about a range of critical national security and foreign policy issues.

The Fog of War and Diplomacy

Russia’s brutal war continues, and President Zelensky is asking for more assistance as the people of Ukraine attempt to exercise their right to defend themselves from an imperialist aggressor seeking to end their existence as an independent nation.
The Biden administration’s efforts to revive Barack Obama’s fatally flawed deal with Iran’s rulers — in an even weaker form — may be close to completion.
Once that happens, Iran’s theocrats will be enriched. They will have more to spend on terrorism, missile development, and proxy wars.
Their path to a nuclear weapons capability will be clear — even if they abide by the agreement which, based on past performance, seems highly unlikely.
It’s probable that, as a provision of that agreement, Biden will grant Russia’s demand for substantial opportunities to evade sanctions.
It’s possible that China’s rulers will take over Russia’s role as a caretaker of Tehran’s highly enriched uranium, which should not inspire confidence.
It’s also likely that the three strongest revisionist and revanchist regimes — those ruling China, Russia, and Iran — will begin working even more closely to diminish the power and influence of the United States. One might call them an Axis of Authoritarians or, more pointedly, an Axis of Tyranny.
Foreign Podicy host Cliff May discusses all this and more with FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former specialist at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, and FDD Senior Fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu.

A War in Ukraine, A Battle in Vienna, and Israel on the Edge

As Vladimir Putin’s troops ravage Ukraine, his envoy in Vienna is steering the U.S. nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Israelis, who know all too well what it means to have bigger neighbors determined to erase your nation from the map, are trying to bring an end to the war and help those suffering as a result of the war — but they can’t forget that Putin has military forces stationed just over their northern border in Syria.
To discuss these and related issues, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by FDD Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer, recently returned from a week of meetings with senior officials in Israel, and FDD Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg, who served for many years as a key staffer in both the House and Senate and, most recently, on the White House National Security Council as Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Enemies and Allies, Villains and Heroes

Joel C. Rosenberg is a New York Times-bestselling author. He’s written 15 novels and four non-fiction books with five million copies in print. Among his readers and fans: George W. Bush, Mike Pence, and Mike Pompeo.
He also has a second vocation as what you might call a religious-political activist. And he has a new book based on that work. It’s titled: “Enemies and Allies.”
Joel talks about his life and his literature with FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Middle East specialist at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, and "Foreign Podicy" host Cliff May.