MESOPOTAMIAN NEWS TODAYS DEBATE / CIPHER BRIEF – The New Risks, Realities & Opportunities in the Middle East

2 May 2018 – As Iran and Israel trade accusations over Iran’s nuclear program, and the U.S. sends indicators that it may pull out of the JCPOA agreement, The Cipher Brief talked with Norm Roule — the former National Intelligence Manager for Iran at ODNI and a Cipher Brief Expert — at The Cipher Brief’s Annual Threat Conference in April.

A few key points from Roule’s talk: •“It would be unfair to say that the current Administration’s Iran policy has had no positive impact. Prior to President Trump’s October 13 speech on JCPOA, is there anyone in the room who heard any European leader say or do anything about Iran’s domestic ballistic missile program, its propagation of missile technology, cyber activities or its malign regional activities?”

• “Iranian-sponsored groups transform over time. In its early days, Hezbollah was not the organizational creature you see today. Wherever Iran goes, it employs a cookie-cutter approach, and this approach is going to empower these people in a similar fashion. If we look at the Houthis, we have to ask ourselves, who might they be in five years?”

• “Despite these problems, in many ways, we’ve never had as much good news in the Middle East as we have today…ISIS has been defeated. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has been severely set back, and it was set back by the Emirates working with Yemenis. The concept of militant Islamic governance in the Middle East is severely tarnished.”

Read Roule’s full brief from The Cipher Brief’s annual Threat Conference on the state of the Middle East.   Read all https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/new-risks-realities-opportunities-middle-east?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&utm_campaign=397cfe5037-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02cbee778d-397cfe5037-122492169&mc_cid=397cfe5037&mc_eid=7382055310