Tim Parker

Amid rapidly shifting regional interests and alignments, #IISS_MD26 is an essential forum to understand Middle Eastern security issues and their global implications – do tune into the debate this weekend | go.iiss.org/MD26

Over the past two decades, successive crises have reinforced the global significance of the Gulf states. The latest IISS Strategic Dossier examines the multifaceted implications of the 2026 United States–Israel war with Iran for the foreign policies and defence and economic priorities of the Gulf states. FREE TO READ | Find out more: go.iiss.org/4eAdMW6 IISS Manama Dialogue    30 October–1 November 2026 #IISS_MD26 | Go.iiss.org/MD26

The International Institute for Strategic Studies is pleased to announce that, together with the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), it will reconvene the IISS Stockholm Civil Defence Forum in 2027. The inaugural staging of the Forum in April 2026 successfully brought together political, military and industrial leaders to engage in discussions on how to approach civil defence and the challenges that lie ahead. Further announcements including the dates for the 2027 IISS Stockholm Civil Defence Forum will be made in due course. Find out more on this year’s proceedings here: go.iiss.org/4rr7Fc3 IISS Stockholm Civil Defence Forum 2027 | #IISS_SCDF27

At the launch of our latest IISS Strategic Dossier, we presented key findings including: 🔹 Europe’s rearmament after four years of war in Ukraine 🔹 The emergence of a defence industrial ecosystem in Central and Eastern Europe 🔹 European land forces’ continued reliance on US support 🔹 NATO’s logistics: progress has been made, but bottlenecks remain 🔹 The state of emerging and disruptive technologies for Europe’s defence 🔗 Find out more about the Dossier: go.iiss.org/3UZvsDI #IISS_PDS26 | Find out more: go.iiss.org/PDS26

IISS Director-General and Chief Executive, Dr Bastian Giegerich, sets the scene for this year's deliberations at the IISS Prague Defence Summit, noting that European defence has entered a new era, one defined not just by surging demand for military capabilities and defence industrial capacity, but by the need to translate significant investment into tangible results for the defence of Europe. 🔗 Full Speaker Agenda out now: go.iiss.org/4hxAVJN #IISS_PDS26 | Find out more: go.iiss.org/PDS26

Israel has increasingly relied on AI-enabled systems to wage war across the region, particularly in Palestine. These systems are enabled by Israeli- and US-headquartered tech corporations. As military-commercial partnerships grow in scope and nature, and as Israel faces political and legal scrutiny over its conduct of military operations, the absence of regulation over the role of commercial entities in defence partnerships is attracting attention. Read Noor Hammad’s #ChartingMiddleEast analysis: go.iiss.org/47Bz0zy

We are #hiring! Join our team in London: 💼 Intern, Conflict, Security and Development Programme (CSDP) 📆 Deadline for receipt of applications: 4 August 2026 An opportunity has arisen for a research internship in the Conflict, Security and Development Programme. Apply here: go.iiss.org/3TZaXq5

Following mass protests, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has replaced Oleksandr Syrskyi with Mykhailo Drapatyi as chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. The outcome augurs well for Ukraine’s conduct of the war and its domestic stability. Read the latest analysis by Dr Nigel Gould-Davies (@Nigelgd1): go.iiss.org/4ffCOe4

In the latest #JapanMemo, Ikeuchi Satoshi (@chutoislam) and Sakanashi Sachi join @RobertAlanWard for an in-depth discussion on the current state and future direction of Japan-Gulf relations. 🎧 Listen now: go.iiss.org/4w1OlDu | Transcript available.