War with Iran

Two months into the war in Iran, the Atlantic Council's Nate Swanson and Danny Citrinowicz reflect on the past, present, and future of the conflict.

Swanson spent nearly twenty years as a career US State Department official, primarily focused on Iran. He most recently served as director for Iran at the National Security Council. Danny Citrinowicz served for twenty-five years in Israel Defense Intelligence, including as the head of the Iran branch in the Research and Analysis Division in Israeli defense intelligence and as the division’s representative in the United States.

AN AC FRONT PAGE EVENT—Fatih Birol discusses how the International Energy Agency is guiding governments and markets through a complex energy landscape.

"We are trying to have a lasting and effective ceasefire. I think that's something both sides of expressed a willingness for," said US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. “We are working very hard to bring the current military campaign to a close.”

He was speaking at an Atlantic Council #acfrontpage event. Watch the full event here: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/christopher-landau-on-commercial-diplomacy-to-advance-us-interests-worldwide/

#iran #iranwar #iranceasefire

Last month, when Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, reports emerged that it was charging some tankers massive fees to transit. Though a ceasefire has now been brokered, Tehran’s “toll booth” is still open for business.

But how exactly does this toll booth operate?

In the latest Guide to the Global Economy podcast, Alisha Chhangani, associate director of the Future of Money at the GeoEconomics Center, breaks down Iran’s strategy and how it might be leveraging China’s renminbi payment system to monetize its chokehold on global shipping.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

While on the surface, it may appear that Russia and China are staying out of the US-Israeli war with Iran, new research from the Atlantic Council's Economic Statecraft Initiative shows the two countries, part of the "Axis of evasion", are actually enabling Iran through supply chains that exist outside the Western economic system. Emily Ezratty breaks it all down.

Emily is the co-author of the piece "From drones to rocket fuel, China and Russia are helping Iran through supply chains." For more, read the full article: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/from-drones-to-rocket-fuel-china-and-russia-are-helping-iran-through-supply-chains/

The Atlantic Council's Jonathan Panikoff says the current situation between the US and Iran is similar to the opening scene of the movie 'Gladiator' with Russell Crowe. Watch to find out how.

Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, explains why Gulf states face not just a security challenge but a serious economic one, and why this moment demands deeper regional cooperation, military interoperability, and a sustained US partnership.

For more, read our weekly Europe Gulf Alert newsletter, where leading experts unpack the forces shaping Europe and the Gulf. Subscribe here: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/the-europe-gulf-forum/

Most people think about the war in Ukraine in terms of weapons: air defense systems, artillery, drones, munitions.

But the next phase of the war may be shaped by something far less visible, explains Clara Kaluderovic, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4boKWXO

What is the US strategy for victory in Iran? Is the US starting another “forever war” in the Middle East?

In the latest episode of ‘So What’s the Strategy?,’ former Trump official Alex Gray joins host Matthew Kroenig to discuss.

For more, watch or listen to the full episode of the podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/commentary/podcast/so-whats-the-strategy-for-iran/

#iranwar #iran #iranwar2026