Just dropped: the latest MBN Iran Briefing podcast, with Andres Ilves, Leila Bazzi and Matthew Kaminski. In week four, Iran and the U.S. are talking, the regime in Tehran survives another day, and Lebanon breaks with its long-time patron. Listen or watch.
This week, MBN covered the war from multiple angles – on the impotence of the Arab world, the perils of the Hormuz, Israel’s two-track strategy and the shadow war playing out in Iraq. Read on for the best of our coverage of the conflict.
The Friday Briefing is also published in Arabic. If you were forwarded this newsletter, subscribe here. We’d love to hear from you at thebriefing@mbn-news.com.
This Week On MBN
Arab World Adrift in War’s Wake
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has laid bare a deeper structural crisis: the absence of a coherent Arab strategy amid competing Iranian, Turkish, and Israeli projects, argues Rana Sabbagh, an award-winning Jordanian investigative reporter in MBN Magazine. Decades of fragmented policymaking and reliance on U.S. security guarantees have left Arab states reactive and strategically exposed.
Read the article here
Hormuz: Technology vs Terrain
The Strait of Hormuz’s rugged terrain – narrow lanes, islands, and steep coastlines – has long given defenders a built-in strategic edge.
Even small, low-cost threats can exploit geography to challenge major naval forces in this constrained environment. In this graphic-interactive article, Youssef Saoud explains that control of Hormuz is no longer about force alone, but about mastering the interplay between geography and technology.
Read the article here
Hormuz at the Brink
As tensions peak around the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump’s decision to extend his ultimatum to Iran is an opening for diplomacy. In this analysis, Rasha Ibrahim highlights how uncertainty dominates both political calculations and global markets, with oil remaining the key barometer of risk.
Read the article here
Israel’s Diverging Playbook
Drawing on insights from reserve General Eran Ortal, Rasha Ibrahim unpacks Israel’s dual-track military strategy across Lebanon and Iran. While its operations in Lebanon are ground-centric, Israel relies on airpower in Iran. These approaches reveal distinct doctrines—tactical containment in Lebanon versus strategic pressure on Tehran. Check out the video.
Watch the video here
Iran’s Shadow War Exposed in Baghdad
Exclusive information to MBN has revealed that a U.S. precision strike in Baghdad killed key Iranian advisers, including an IRGC figure known as “Ansari.” MBN’s investigation uncovered a covert safe house tied to the Iranian Embassy, offering rare operational detail.
Read the article here
Hezbollah Sleeper Cells Uncovered in the Gulf
Kuwait dismantled two Hezbollah-linked cells and seized weapon caches, including rockets, drones and grenades. Gulf security experts tell Sakina Abdallah that Hezbollah was actively recruiting through tight-knit social networks, forming sleeper cells across the Gulf.
Read the article here
Closer
“This is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them [Iran] other than more death and destruction.”
–Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for President Trump
