Seth J. Frantzman
Contributor
Seth J. Frantzman is an Adjunct Fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, author of The October 7 War and an expert in Middle East affairs.
From Baghdad to Beirut: Tehran’s Strategy to Set the Region Aflame
Seth J. Frantzman 31/03 15:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Tehran Lebanon Hezbollah Israel United States
In December 2017, Hezbollah hosted Iraqi militia leader Qais al-Khazali on a tour of Lebanon’s border with Israel. At the time, Israel was careful not to provoke Hezbollah, and Khazali seemed confident that he could threaten the Jewish state from the frontier. Nearly a decade later, Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have become ...
Israel’s Goals and Challenges in the New Hezbollah War
Seth J. Frantzman 09/03 16:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Lebanon Hamas Joseph Aoun
Hezbollah’s opening of a front from Lebanon in support of Iran was not a surprise for Israel, which is again discussing the forcible dismantling of the organization. It remains unclear whether Lebanon is ready to disarm Hezbollah, and whether Israel will be able to do so itself. The new war is escalating, one that Israel and Hezbollah have ...
A Month of Crisis in Syria and Its Regional Ramifications
Seth J. Frantzman 01/02 19:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Damascus Donald Trump Israel Turkey USA
Syria has experienced another dramatic transformation. After a month of clashes that began in Aleppo and spread to eastern Syria, Damascus announced on January 30 that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for a ceasefire and its military integration. The Syrian transitional government now controls most of the ...
As Border Threats Evolve, Israel Turns to New Technologies
Seth J. Frantzman 21/01 15:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Israel Hezbollah Hamas AI Technology
Even though Israel may have militarily weakened Hamas and Hezbollah, it must still contend with increasingly complex and non-traditional security threats along every front, underscoring that today’s borders and battlefields are interconnected in ways that were once unimaginable. On January 7, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced that it ...
How Syria Can Begin Integrating the SDF
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-12-24 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Turkey Syria SDF Kurds Ahmad al-Sharaa
Clashes erupted December 22 in Aleppo between Syrian government troops and the local Kurdish security forces (Asayish), killing at least three people and underscoring the challenges facing efforts to unify armed factions under the Syrian transitional government. Even as Damascus seeks to consolidate nationwide security and integrate armed ...
Israel’s Power Vacuum Dilemma
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-12-10 17:10 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Israel Benjamin Netanyahu USA Lebanon Syria Gaza
On December 2 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israel Defense Forces soldiers wounded in recent fighting in southern Syria. Their injuries followed a November 26 IDF raid on the village of Beit Jinn in southern Syria, an operation that left several Syrians dead and wounded a number of Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu had a ...
Kurds at a Crossroads as Middle East Shifts
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-11-25 21:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Kurds Middle East Syria ISIS Iraq
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi’s November 19 trip to the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq was an important moment, underscoring that Kurdish leaders now appear to understand the importance of cooperation amid sweeping changes in the region. Abdi—a close partner of the US military in Syria who spent ...
Sharaa in Washington: A Turning Point for Syria
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-11-12 16:00 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Syria Washington United States Donald Trump Ahmad al-Sharaa
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the White House on Monday for a historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that capped a year in which Damascus has rapidly come in from the cold and reintegrated into the international community. Sharaa has helped steer Syria through this complex path, beginning with pushing the Assad regime out of ...
Assassination Casts Dark Cloud over Iraqi Elections
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-10-23 15:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
In the early hours of October 15, an IED tore through a Chevy Tahoe in Baghdad’s northern outskirts, killing Safaa al-Mashhadani, a candidate in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Three days later, gunmen opened fire on the office of another candidate, Muthanna al-Azzawi, 25 kilometers south of the Iraqi ...
After Gaza’s Deal, A Momentum in the Region for More Peace Stability in Syria, Lebanon?
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-10-13 20:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Lebanon Syria Gaza Hezbollah Iran Donald Trump United States
U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for a peace deal to end the Gaza war has proven to be initially successful. He was able to bring together delegations from Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Israel, and Hamas in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh in mid-October. In the wake of the deal, Trump flew to Israel and Egypt and chaired a peace summit ...