The FBI and Iranian Espionage

Erfan Fard
March 7, 2021
Paper No. 1950

On February 13, 2021, the FBI issued a public appeal to locate Monica Witt, a former US counterintelligence agent who defected to Iran in 2013 and was formally charged with espionage in 2019. Witt is suspected of assisting Iranian intelligence and targeting her former fellow agents on behalf of the regime. She is also alleged to have disclosed the code name and classified mission of a DIA Special Access Program.

Toward a Palestinian State? The US Confers Legitimacy on the Palestinian Authority and Hamas

Since taking office, the Biden administration has been in direct contact with Palestinian Authority leaders, encouraged and assisted by Israeli leftists who want to bring a Palestinian state into existence as quickly as possible. The Israeli government is not in the picture except in one regard: the administration is pressuring PM Netanyahu to enable Palestinian elections not only in the West Bank and Gaza but also in East Jerusalem, which would prove to the world that Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is no longer valid.

Russia and Iran Sign an Intelligence Pact

The Islamic Republic of Iran has experienced a number of serious counterintelligence failures over the years. Last month, Iran and Russia, a close ally of the Islamic regime, signed a pact that should assist it as it attempts to reform its counterintelligence.

The President of Tunisia Slanders the Jews

Dr. Edy Cohen
March 3, 2021
Paper No. 1947

The president of Tunisia, disturbed by demonstrations against his country’s economic mismanagement, pulled out the one card that has always worked for Arab presidents and kings who need to divert attention away from their own failures: blame the Jews.

US Intelligence Report Leaves Saudi Arabia with No Good Geopolitical Choices

The Biden administration’s publication of a US intelligence report that holds Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi creates a fundamental challenge to the kingdom’s geopolitical ambitions.

US Intelligence and the Dilemma of Iran

Erfan Fard
February 26, 2021
Paper No. 1944

The rogue regime in Tehran is the primary source of turmoil and instability in the Middle East. The regime thirsts for ever more dominance across the region and beyond and employs a terrorist network to achieve that goal, even as it continues to move aggressively in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The threat of Iran, combined with the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and Syria, has prompted the creation of an anti-Iran coalition. It is now up to the Biden administration, which has no desire to become involved in a military conflict with Iran, to determine the best course of action in dealing with a regime that persistently challenges all accepted norms of behavior.

Erdoğan’s Turkey Cannot Modernize Via Constitutional Reform

Turks have been seeking to modernize their democratic culture for a century and a half. Recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to reform the constitution. Beware of an Erdoğan bearing democratic gifts.

Saudi Moderation Is Put to the Test

Saudi Arabia’s combustible mix of religion, nationalism, and tradition as well as contradictions in the kingdom’s projection of itself as a driver of moderate Islam and a major voice in combating discrimination and racism has sparked a heated debate on social media. How the mix plays out will ultimately spotlight the outcome of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s efforts to inject a significant dose of nationalism in a Saudi identity that historically has been shaped heavily by religion.

“Human Rights” Organizations for Palestinian Rights, or Lawfare Against Israel?

A spate of attacks on Arab Christians in and around Bethlehem should have merited investigation by the many “human rights” organizations in the area, but they weren’t interested. This is not surprising, as their focus is almost entirely on promoting lawfare against Israel, not exposing human rights violations committed by Palestinians against other Palestinians.

The US Brings Israel into CENTCOM

The Pentagon’s decision last month to relocate Israel to the area of responsibility of the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) is a milestone development. It reflects a growing need to coordinate operational military activities among Israel, the US, and pragmatic Gulf States in the face of the common threat posed by the Iranian axis.

Perspectives Papers