Operation Epic Fury/Operation Roaring Lion

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An F/A-18E Super Hornet approaches to land on an aircraft carrier flight deck, with the nose and wing-mounted missiles of another jet in the foreground and a flight deck crew member signaling below.

Strategic Attack on Iran: Airpower’s Promises, Limits, and Lessons

Operation Epic Fury demonstrates that airpower is both essential and insufficient. A review of what the campaign reveals about airpower's promises, limits and lessons in Iran.
Collage of the Israel-Iran conflict

Collection: Iran, Israel and the United States at War (2025-2026 Operations)

Experts analyze the US-Israel Iran military conflicts - covering nuclear diplomacy; strategic, security, and regional implications; and domestic and international law.
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on June 18, 2026, vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Expert Q&A: Decoding the Treasury Department’s Actions on Iran

How to understand the Treasury Department's sanctions relief for Iran's oil sector, its quick reversal, and what to look for going forward.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Clausewitz on Operation Epic Fury

Applying Clausewitz’s principles to Operation Epic Fury reveals the war’s strategic design–architecture linking military action to political purpose–was deficient from…
An Iranian woman walks past a mural depicting late Iranian supreme leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (R) in Tehran on June 18, 2026.

Time to Repeal INARA and Move Forward with the Iran MoU

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act should be repealed or amended. The alternatives are extending a disastrous war of choice or ignoring the law.
In this handout photo provided by U.S. Central Command, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) implements a maritime blockade against an Iranian-flagged ship attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, on April 26, 2026 in the Arabian Sea. Rafael Peralta is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (Handout photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Is the United States (Still) at War? How Wars Begin and End

Armed conflict is not a matter of political branding, rhetorical convenience, or domestic law positioning. It is a legal status that turns on objective facts.
A tanker is docked at an offloading terminal.

Taking a Toll

How allowing Iran to charge for transit in the Strait of Hormuz could undermine U.S. strategy in the Pacific and beyond
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards on May 4 denied that any commercial ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, after the US military earlier said two US-flagged merchant vessels had transited through the vital waterway. (Photo by Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images) /

What the Iran War Reveals About the War Powers Resolution and How Congress Can Act

It is Congress’s responsibility to assert its constitutional prerogatives with respect to the use of force and to rein in a lawless executive.
A woman walks past a giant billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. The White House said on April 27 it was examining Iran's latest proposal to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, two months after a US and Israeli offensive sent shockwaves through the global economy. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

What A War Game Already Told Us About Iran

A war game exposed the risks of fighting Iran with assumptions instead of strategy, and its lessons echo in today’s conflict.
Gen. Dan Caine speaks at a podium in front of a photograph of a ship

Five “Blockades” and One Legal Problem: Naval Enforcement in the U.S.–Iran Conflict

Former U.S. Navy Commander, JAGC Mark Nevitt clarifies the 5 "blockades" in the U.S.-Iran conflict and the different legal issues and operational risks at stake.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.

At the 60-Day Mark, the Iran War is Triply Illegal

Under the War Powers Resolution, Trump must now terminate the hostilities against Iran he began two months ago. He seems set against doing so.
US Department of State building with sign in front

On the State Department Memorandum “Operation Epic Fury and International Law”

Former State Department attorney's critique of the Department's Iran war memorandum on “Operation Epic Fury and International Law.”
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