Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum. A former Pentagon official, Dr. Rubin has lived in post-revolution Iran, Yemen, and both pre- and postwar Iraq. He also spent time with the Taliban before 9/11. For more than a decade, he taught classes at sea about the Horn of Africa and Middle East conflicts, culture, and terrorism, to deployed US Navy and Marine units. Dr. Rubin is the author, coauthor, and coeditor of several books exploring diplomacy, Iranian history, Arab culture, Kurdish studies, and Shi’ite politics.
Key Points and Summary – The Trump Administration is exploring a workaround to restore Turkey’s access to F-35s by deeming Ankara’s Russian S-400 “inoperable”...
Key Points and Summary – Hezbollah isn’t done. Despite leadership losses, its financing—diaspora-linked laundering and new backing from Turkey to offset Iran—remains resilient. -Unless...
Will Palestine Recognition Revitalize Separatist Movements in Scotland, Quebec, and Murrawarri? – On September 21, 2025, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia formally recognized...
On September 19, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he would not only welcome his Turkish counterpart, President Erdoğan, to the White House on...
Key Points and Summary – U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack’s diplomatic approach in the Middle East is undermining American interests and snatching defeat from the...
Azerbaijan’s Demand for a Zangezur Corridor is about War, not Peace MEGHRI, ARMENIA—The last train left the old, abandoned Soviet station in this dusty,...