Ari Cicurel

Associate Director of Foreign Policy @JINSADC University of Michigan and King's College London grad. Views are my own. RT/Like ≠ endorsement

[Ari Cicurel @AriCicurel]

Iran’s military losses alone will not stop the regime from surviving and rebuilding. I explain in this @jinsadc insight how the U.S. and Israel should keep pressure on the tools the regime uses to control, surveil, imprison, and kill the Iranian people. https://t.co/EurD1XWg78

[JINSA @jinsadc]

JINSA's @AriCicurel tells @jewishinsider Hezbollah has deployed FPV drones similar to those used by Russia against Ukraine, adding that the group has adopted fiber‑optic control cables to mimic Russian tactics and evade electronic countermeasures.
https://t.co/ymuEsT4KDv

[Yaakov Katz @yaakovkatz]

I hate to be the guy to pour cold water on the reports of IDF troops reaching the Beaufort Ridge in Lebanon, but I struggle to understand why this is being celebrated.

For anyone who lived here in the 1990s, the Beaufort is not a symbol of success. It represents Israel's long and costly presence in Lebanon - something that claimed too many soldiers' lives and ended without Israel achieving its strategic goals.

The fact that the IDF can reach the Beaufort today is obvious and - despite the media festival - is not even close to a victory. The real questions are different: How does Israel eventually leave? What is the political endgame? And are we possibly witnessing the beginning of another prolonged military presence in Lebanon without a clear horizon for how it ends?

Because here is what we already know way too well - getting into Lebanon is always easier than getting out.

[Josh Kraushaar @JoshKraushaar]

Strong statement from Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer: "We will not endorse a Democrat unless they support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, and support Israel's security and right to self-defense."

[Rep. Noah Arbit 🇺🇦 @NoahArbit]

Nation states are a feature of the international system, yet only the Jewish one’s existence is controversial. There’s a reason Abdul isn’t wringing his hands over whether Estonia has a right to exist. Or Japan. Bangladesh. Turkey. Iran.

[The Jewish Majority @JewishMajority]

For months we were told Kamala Harris lost because she wasn't hostile enough to Israel, that the party’s autopsy report proved it, and that the report was being hidden to protect the U.S.-Israel relationship.

The report is now public, and it doesn't even mention Israel or Gaza once. That’s quite a disconnect from the media narrative.

[Jon Favreau @jonfavs]

This person should not be anywhere near public office

Every new statement is somehow crazier and more vile than the last

[Jared Moskowitz @JaredEMoskowitz]

First current political candidate suggests concentration camps for American Jews.

This should be national news!

National Democratic leaders must call this out immediately

[JINSA @jinsadc]

Today’s update on Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion.

Trump will convene his national security team to discuss military options on Iran—as Tehran resumes attacks across the Gulf and moves to tighten control over Hormuz.

Key developments 🧵

https://t.co/iMLI0zPfkb

[laurence norman @laurnorman]

Exactly. Almost all dual use. If a no weapons promise is what Trump used his leverage for, it was wasted.

[Lara Seligman @laraseligman]

Iran’s ability to threaten the U.S. and its partners in the Middle East has been “significantly degraded” by U.S. and Israeli military operations over the past year, Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told lawmakers Thursday. https://t.co/IYfo9NpSvn

[Haley Britzky @halbritz]

Iran still has the ability to continue strikes in the region, Adm. Cooper says this morning:

“Can [Iran] strike oil infrastructure across the Persian Gulf?” Sen. Elise Slotkin asked Cooper.

“They have a very moderate, if not small, capability to continue strikes,” Cooper said. “And we of course have accordingly prepared for such a contingency.”

[Ari Cicurel @AriCicurel]

Between October 2023 and the start of Operation Epic Fury, @jinsadc data tracked 388 rockets, missiles, and drones that Iran or its proxies launched at U.S. personnel located at bases in the Middle East.

[Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران @ariel_oseran]

This makes three Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait — to have carried out retaliatory military strikes against Iran and its proxies during the recent war.

Tehran took a dangerous gamble by bombing its neighbors, and the results are not in its favor.

[JINSA @jinsadc]

The Abraham Accords 🇦🇪🤝🇮🇱 yielded tangible benefits for the UAE, when Israel sent its prized air defense system, Iron Dome, to the Emirates.

Read @AriCicurel's analysis of their growing relationship
🔗https://t.co/4UaqaRvcbJ

[Ari Cicurel @AriCicurel]

While it's unclear exactly when Saudi Arabia conducted its “tit-for-tat strikes” in late March, this would coincide with an escalation in Iranian drone attacks. The de-escalation from 3/28 to the ceasefire starting on 4/8 suggests that Riyadh's response deterred Tehran.

[Timour Azhari @timourazhari]

EXCLUSIVE — Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said.

W/@PHREUTERS

[Franz-Stefan Gady @HoansSolo]

If this is true, then not just the US but also NATO—heavily influenced by US thinking—need to reassess CONOPS premised on rapid, decisive warfare driven by information superiority & accelerated kill chains.

[U.S. CBO @USCBO]

CBO estimates that a national missile defense system possessing capabilities broadly consistent with those in the "The Iron Dome for America" executive order would cost about $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and operate for 20 years. https://t.co/KVCEEVRnTX

[Daniel Lippman @dlippman]

NEW: Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for years has publicly said he’s a physician — but there’s overwhelming evidence that he’s had no experience as a licensed medical doctor. (W/ @adamwren) https://t.co/QZA7trhMH9

[JINSA @jinsadc]

President Trump, Iran’s regime is doing what it has done for decades: survive, stall, regroup, and rebuild.

To achieve America's objectives, a team of senior 🇺🇸generals & admirals w/ deep experience in the region say it's time to update the strategy, return to military operations, and launch Operation Epic Fury 2:

🔹Strengthen the blockade
🔹Force open the Strait of Hormuz
🔹Target Iran's missile & drone infrastructure
🔹Target the regime’s internal control
🔹Prevent Iran’ nuclear reconstitution
🧵

[Holly Dagres @hdagres]

Finally, someone clapped back at regime-contracted Explosive Media with a Lego video about the massacre of anti-regime protesters in January and the internet blackout.