On the Brink of War: Iran, the US, and What Comes Next

The War in Iran and the Future of the Gulf

For years, the Gulf States sold the world on stability, investment, and distance from the Middle East's wars. Two weeks of Iranian strikes have shattered that narrative, targeting population centers, energy infrastructure, and military installations across the Arabian Peninsula. On March 12, Wikistrat invited Gulf and Middle East geopolitics expert Dr. Neil Quilliam to examine how the GCC is absorbing the shock and what the post conflict landscape means for the region's security, economy, and diplomatic future

Operation Epic Fury: Decoding Sentiment Inside Iranian Society

The U.S.-Israeli air campaign has entered its second week, and Washington is looking to declare victory. But the Islamic Republic is intact, a successor is in place, and Iran's strategic calculus is already oriented toward reconstitution. On March 10, Wikistrat invited expert Ahmad Hashemi to assess the regime's wartime resilience, the hereditary succession, the failure of the opposition, and why no amount of bombing will produce the political transformation that Washington and Jerusalem expect

Iran at War: Survival, Succession, and What Comes Next

Six days into the U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran, the strikes are producing battlefield results, but the strategy for what comes next remains undefined.. The Islamic Republic is battered, decapitated at the top, and under unprecedented pressure, but it is functioning, adapting, and drawing on a survival playbook decades in the making. On March 6, Wikistrat hosted Iran expert Dr. Sina Azodi for a webinar examining the regime’s wartime resilience, the looming question of leadership transition, and the strategic uncertainties surrounding Iran’s future

Operation “Epic Fury”

Three days into Operation “Epic Fury,” the reported death of Ali Khamenei has redirected attention from tactical developments to questions of succession and institutional durability in Tehran. On March 2, Wikistrat hosted renowned expert Alex Vatanka to decode who runs Iran now, whether regime change is strategy or wishful thinking, and why the silence in Tehran's streets may be the most important signal of all

On the Brink of War: Iran, the US, and What Comes Next

Iran's Supreme Leader faces what may be the defining decision of his tenure: capitulate to American demands and risk looking weak enough to invite future attacks, or absorb a U.S. military strike and bet that the regime survives it. According to Dr. Raz Zimmt, Khamenei has already made his choice. On February 27, Wikistrat hosted one of Israel's leading Iran experts, who laid out why a military strike is now more likely than an agreement, and what it could mean for the regime, the region, and the balance of power in the Middle East