National Security News

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National Security News

Iran

Iran will choose a new president on Friday

Iran will hold a run-off election to choose a new president on Friday 5th July after the two leading candidates failed to secure a majority. Hardliner Saeed Jalili and rival Masoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as reformist, are both hopeful…

Has World War Three already begun?

Sir Iain Duncan Smith is a long serving Tory MP and a vocal critic of the Chinese state. He has been sanctioned by China for describing the treatment of the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western…

Iran’s Hardliners Vie for Presidency as the Country Faces Severe Internal and External Challenges

Since the death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, political uncertainty has run riot in Iran. In this article, which we are republishing with The Conversation’s permission, Afshin Shahi, Associate Professor in Middle East Politics & International Relations at Keele University,…

Fighting Fire with Fire: Our Policy of Deterrence Towards Iran Lies in Tatters – Why the West Must Start Fighting Back

With Iran continuing its sabre-rattling in the Middle East, NSN speaks with Henry Jackson Society Senior Research Fellow Barak Seener, at the launch of his new report, Restoring Deterrence: Destabilising the Iranian Regime, where Seener calls for a new Iran…

Iran’s Next Supreme Leader

As the world awaits news on who will be Iran’s next president, The Conversation discusses who is likely to become Iran’s next supreme leader after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, the man many expected to take on the supreme…

National Security News identifies six potential Iranian presidential candidates.

The end of official mourning for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has kick-started a competition in which as many as 20 potential successors have been proposed.All candidates have to be cleared by the 12-strong elite body known as the Guardian Council,…

The death of the Iranian president is unlikely to end Iran’s shadow war with Israel.

Even before Tehran had formally announced the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, conspiracy theories as to whether foul play was to blame began coming in rapidly. Was Israel’s Mossad, the go-to organisation Iran likes to blame for almost any catastrophe…

Further Israel-Iran Escalation Averted… For Now: Israel Reeled Back, Iran realised It Can’t Win – Col Phil Ingram

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Putin got on the phone to the Grand Ayatollah and said, ‘Hey, look, stop. I don’t want you starting a war where you’re going to have to make sure your arms industry is doing nothing but feeding the Iranian military. I need you to keep supplying me stuff so I can continue my fight in Ukraine.”

Oman serves as a crucial back channel between Iran and the US as tensions flare in the Middle East

For years, Oman has worked hard to avoid the escalation of Middle Eastern crises. As conflict rages between Israel and Gaza and Iran, Oman is reprising its role as peacemaker, enabling back-channel talks in an attempt to avoid any further…

Iran’s Nuclear Path Reaches Critical Juncture

Tensions between Iran and Israel have reached a fever pitch as Iran’s nuclear capabilities come under intense scrutiny.  Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued a stark warning on Monday regarding Iran’s nuclear activities, suggesting…