This is the first in a three-part video series analyzing the current status between Hezbollah and Israel on the Israeli Lebanese border and assessing how things might evolve and why… If you have not seen my video from July 23rd – Iran’s Deteriorating Deterrence & Teheran’s Possible Reactions – it might help augment the background. Here is the link to…

  Recent events throughout the region – including the killing of an Iranian General and a Senior Hezbollah militant outside of Damascus earlier this week – erode Iran’s deterrent posture. In this filmed webinar, I give an overview of Iran’s regional goals, the current challenge it is facing in achieving its ambitions. And I outline a possible – even counterintuitive…

Shalom. My name is Avi Melamed. I am an Author, Educator, Lecturer, and Strategic Intelligence Analyst. My expertise is Current Events in the Middle East, the Arab & Muslim World, and their Impact on the Region & Israel. I provide Geopolitical Briefings, Intelligence Tours, & Personal Encounters in Israel and I Lecture & Teach abroad. I look forward to being…

In this short article, I would like to explore a couple of aspects of Israel, possibly annexing/applying Israel sovereignty in parts of the area known as The West Bank / The Occupied Territories / Judea & Samaria. One:      What will Israeli do? Two:      What will be the Palestinian reaction in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? Three:…

Background Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa. It has the largest oil reserves in Africa, and it has the ninth-largest oil reserves on the planet. The country spans over 700,000 square miles and has a population of 6.8 million people. It is a tribal and conservative society. It is comprised of two major ethnic groups – Arabs and…

Every year, on the last Friday of the Muslim month of Ramadan, worshipers around the world mark “Al-Quds Day.” This year. Ramadan began on April 23rd and ended on May 23rd. Al Quds Day this year was on May 22nd. Al-Quds is the name in Arabic for Jerusalem. The word is taken from the Hebrew word for holy which is…

Shalom from Jerusalem. I hope you and your families are healthy and well in these uncertain and challenging times. If you, your organization, your firm, etc. are interested in taking this opportunity to deepen your knowledge about the current events in the Middle East, please contact me at Avi@AviMelamed.com. In the meantime, be healthy & stay safe. All my best,…

Compared to previous Western initiatives, President Trump's plan reflects a more up-to-date dialogue with the realities that exist on the ground. This in itself, it is essential because it marks the end of the paradigm that dominated the outlines offered previously by Western diplomats to end the conflict. Trump's outline - even if not fulfilled, will set the tone for future outlines.

"Council of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden Countries” - yet another layer in the formation of the Israeli-Egyptian-Saudi axis. This alliance strives to curb Iran and Turkey from spreading their influence and power in the Middle East and restore stability to this turbulent region.

An update to my article on Zoom-In on the Middle East | December 15, 2019, In this short article, I would like to focus on Turkey’s involvement in the war in Libya. The Civil War in Libya began in 2011 following the ousting of Libyan Dictator, Muammar al-Gaddafi, in October of that year. Since then, various Libyan factors have been…

This article is being written just hours after Iran launched a missile attack (January 8) against two military bases in Iraq. The targets were the Ein al-Assad base in western Iraq and the Harir base located some 70 miles west of the Iran-Iraq border. These bases host United States Forces, as well as International Coalition Forces that are fighting ISIS…

The killing of Iranian Al-Quds Force Commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani by the United States (January 3rd, 2020), launched a shock wave that ripples through the Middle East. Qassem Soleimani was the Al-Quds Force commander. The Al -Quds force is an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRG). The IRG reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Soleimani…

The Iranian Mullah regime came to power in 1979. Iran’s official name is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is an Islamic Shi’ite theocracy ruled by Mullahs. The word mullah is an Islamic clerical term. A mullah is a learned scholar of Islamic theology who is authorized to share his knowledge. The Shi’ite clerical order is hierarchical. The most senior cleric in the Shi’ite clergy is Ayatollah ‘Uzma – the Grand Ayatollah. The word Ayatollah is two words that mean “Sign of God.” As we learned in the opening chapter, one of the core Shi’ite narratives is that their God-given right to lead the Muslim world was stolen from them in the year 680 when Hussein Bin ‘Ali Bin Abi…

The Middle East is a chain of links. Everything is connected. Understanding the links is critical to developing an accurate picture of reality. I wanted to take the opportunity to provide a contextualized snapshot of the region along with my predictions of what we can expect in the short term. I hope you find this brief overview helpful.   Lebanon…