2018 Looks Like an Arms Bonanza

by William Hartung  As Donald Trump might put it, major weapons contractors like Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin cashed in “bigly” in his first year in office. They raked in tens of billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, while posting… Continue Reading

The Logic Behind Iran’s Regional Posture

by Adnan Tabatabai On December 3, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei convened Iran’s top military brass. Iranian media circulated one key sentence of his remarks on the front pages of newspapers: “Today, the armed forces are in need of the best… Continue Reading

Sisi’s Trip to France

by Cinzia Bianco and Giorgio Cafiero From October 23-26, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi made his first trip to Paris since Emmanuel Macron won France’s presidential election. Along with Sisi’s interest in securing greater investment and economic support from France,… Continue Reading

Is Riyadh Finally Buying Russian Air Defense Missiles?

by Mark N. Katz Among the many other Saudi-Russian agreements that have been announced during King Salman’s visit to Moscow, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV declared that Riyadh is buying Russian S-400 air defense missiles. This is a highly significant move because, though… Continue Reading