The United States is on pace for another record year of military strikes in Somalia in 2026. At least 74 strikes have been carried out so far, the majority targeting Al Qaeda’s Shabaab—a clear shift from 2025, when the US set a record for strikes and focused most of them on the Islamic State’s local affiliate.
The US-led Board of Peace said on July 8 that it would soon begin setting up a “pilot zone” in Gaza that would bring unarmed civilians screened for Hamas links across the Yellow Line into the Israeli-controlled portion of the territory. Meanwhile, Hamas has escalated ceasefire violations in the areas it still controls as the group works to rebuild its forces.
The Trump administration initiated a rescission of Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on July 8. The decision follows President Donald Trump’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa at the NATO summit in Ankara and comes amid broader US and European efforts to reintegrate Syria into the international community.
Iraqi elites received the body of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as his funeral procession toured Iraq’s Shiite holy cities on July 8. Notably, Iraq’s top cleric did not say prayers or attend the ceremony due to stated health reasons.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran faced its most significant test yet on July 7 after Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington responded with a new round of military strikes and sharply narrowed its oil sanctions waiver, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement.
Hamas said that it is prepared to dissolve its governing institutions in Gaza and transfer authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a key component of the US- and UN-backed ceasefire framework. As negotiations continue, Israeli officials argue that Hamas surrendering administrative control without relinquishing weapons would leave Hamas as the dominant force behind the scenes.
A new 14-point trilateral framework toward ending hostilities in Lebanon puts Hezbollah, Iran’s strongest terror proxy, at a crossroads. Disarm and let Lebanon reclaim its southern border—or keep threatening Israel and risk blowing up the fragile US-Iran peace deal. FDD Senior Fellow David Daoud joins Bill Roggio to break down what’s really at stake in these negotiations.
Over the past two years, the Islamic Republic has engaged in at least 15 distinct ballistic missile operations from its territory against foreign targets. Despite a pause in these attacks in 2023, the 2024–2026 period resumed a trend of increasing Iranian missile operations in the region between 2017–2022.
Syria has completed the formation of its new People’s Assembly, appointing the final 70 members of parliament as part of the country’s political transition following the fall of the Assad regime. Meanwhile, security tensions persist along the Israeli border, where recent clashes and Israeli military operations underscore the complex security environment.
Iraq’s new government launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that resulted in dozens of arrests of politicians and senior officials across the country’s political spectrum. The raids, carried out by elite security forces, are part of Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi’s broader effort to strengthen state institutions and restore public confidence in government.
Anti-Hamas organizers in Gaza had hoped June 26 would bring a wave of large demonstrations against the terror group. However, Hamas worked to lower turnout with arrests, threats, and armed street deployments.
A recent precision strike against a senior Islamic State leader underscored Washington’s continued counterterrorism mission in Syria. Separately, US President Donald Trump urged Syria’s new government to consider intervening against Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, but Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa stated his country will not send forces, preferring diplomacy over military action.
One week after President Trump signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran, the 60-day negotiation window is already under pressure—and the concessions are piling up. So, is this two-page MOU actually worth the paper it’s written on? FDD Iran Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu joins Bill Roggio to break it all down.
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is seeking to acquire air-defense systems following months of missile and drone attacks targeting energy infrastructure and Iranian opposition groups across northern Iraq. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Iranian-backed proxies continue to threaten regional stability by launching attacks from Iraqi territory.
Days after Tehran and Washington reached a memorandum of understanding over ending the recent conflict, Iran’s new supreme leader is distancing himself from the agreement as hardliners clash over its implications. Meanwhile, reports that Iran is preparing to increase support for Hezbollah and statements from senior regime figures suggest that Tehran views any sanctions relief as an opportunity to rebuild proxy capabilities.
Efforts to advance the US-backed peace plan for Gaza have continued amid difficult negotiations over Hamas’s disarmament and the future security structure of the enclave. Talks in Cairo involving Hamas, Egyptian officials, and representatives of the Board of Peace have focused on implementing key provisions related to weapons restrictions and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force.
Ukraine hopes a set of sweeping reforms will help redress its chronic shortage of manpower by providing clear terms of service and better pay. However, its promises to begin discharging long-serving troops and reform controversial mobilization procedures raise questions about how it will accomplish these goals simultaneously.
Since late April, armed attackers in small skiffs, using tactics consistent with pirates, have been attacking ships off Yemen’s southern coast and other waters around the Horn of Africa at a rate not seen since 2011, when piracy in the region was at its peak.
US Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack’s recent visit to Iraq on June 15 highlighted Washington’s efforts to support stability, security cooperation, and political reform in the country amid continuing regional tensions. Discussions focused on strengthening ties between Baghdad and Washington, disarming Iranian-backed militias, and advancing energy deals.
President Trump said that a two-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran that will end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. But will this deal bring about a lasting peace in the region, or has peace just become another five-letter word? FDD Senior Fellow David Daoud and Bill Roggio speculate as to what will become of the Middle East and America’s influence in the region as this very thin MOU moves forward.
On June 14, the Israeli military confirmed that it killed Ali Mousa Daqduq, a wanted and dangerous Hezbollah military commander. Daqduq was a key architect of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and a top Hezbollah commander involved in leading attacks inside Israel. He was previously reported killed in the fall of 2024, but his death was never confirmed.
As Nicolás Maduro’s foreign minister and vice president, interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez previously helped build Caracas’s ties to Russia, China, and other US adversaries. Despite Washington’s desire for Venezuela to now orient toward the West, Rodríguez is also courting middle powers that can give Caracas room to maneuver, an effort aided by Venezuela’s recovering oil economy.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi is set to visit Washington, DC, as his government seeks investment, security cooperation, and support for efforts to strengthen state authority. A central focus of his agenda is bringing weapons held by Iranian-backed militias under government control, a process Baghdad hopes to advance before the planned end of the US anti-Islamic State mission in September 2026.
Following the high-profile eliminations of two Hamas military wing leaders, the Israeli military turned to targeting lower-level officials in the group who are leading its rearmament push, as well as members of other Gaza terrorist organizations.
The Houthis in Yemen launched two missiles at Israel and declared a blockade of Israeli vessels in the Red Sea on Monday. The Iran-backed terror group conducted this attack during waves of Iran’s own missile attacks against Israel.
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci recently sparked controversy by expressing his desire to one day govern Jerusalem and suggesting that territories once ruled by the Ottoman Empire could again fall under Turkish sovereignty. Ciftci’s remarks are the latest indication that senior Turkish officials continue to view Jerusalem not merely as a symbol of the Palestinian cause, but as part of a broader historical mission that seeks to expand Ankara’s influence across the Middle East.
Moscow announced that it will re-establish the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School, one of more than a dozen new schools Russia is standing up to expand its officer-training pipeline for a larger military that has been heavily attrited by the war in Ukraine.
The Houthis in Yemen reiterated support for their partners in the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, singling out Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. While leaving the door open to further involvement in the ongoing regional conflict, the group stopped short of saying it would join the fighting.
Despite multiple attempts by Israel to quell the fighting in Gaza and decapitate Hamas’s leadership, the group continues a guerilla-style resistance. The IDF now fights on three active fronts: Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. But it’s perhaps the forgotten war in Gaza that could resume major hostilities if left unchecked. Bill Roggio speaks with FDD Research Analyst Samuel Ben-Ur about next steps in Gaza.
Iraq’s new government is attempting to bring weapons held by Iranian-backed militias under state control, a move that could reshape the role of armed groups linked to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Several militias have announced plans to place their arms under government authority and disengage from the PMF, while others remain opposed or have issued mixed signals.