Jonathan Spyer

Jonathan Spyer is a writer, analyst and journalist focusing on the Levant and Middle East strategic affairs. He is a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies (JISS), a fellow at the Middle East Forum and a freelance security analyst and correspondent at IHS Janes. Spyer is the Executive Director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis (MECRA). He is the author of Days of the Fall: A Reporter's Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars (Routledge, 2017) - an account of his field reporting in Syria and Iraq, and The Transforming Fire: the Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict, (Continuum, 2010). Spyer's work is published in many journals, and he consults and advises for a wide variety of bodies in the governmental, NGO and private sectors.

TURKISH PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, pose after signing a joint defense agreement in Mecca last Friday.

The new crescent: Mecca pact gives rise to a Saudi-led Sunni bloc, posing new challenges for Israel

AT A time of deep strains between Israel and several European countries, mainly related to domestic opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, the upward trajectory of the Jerusalem-Belgrade connection is of particular note, the writer suggests.

As defense ties deepen, Serbia becomes one of Israel's closest allies in Europe

Two IDF company commanders at Beaufort Castle, southern Lebanon, July 12, 2026.

At Beaufort Castle, the IDF's 36th Division prepares for Hezbollah's next move


Turkey's 'strategic triad' gains sway in Trump's Middle East policy, posing challenges for Israel

BEHIND THE LINES: Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan are emerging as a powerful bloc - an alliance openly opposed to Israel.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (left) is greeted by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Doha, in March.

Cold war brewing in Syria as Druze, Kurds, and Alawites resist al-Sharaa's rule

BEHIND THE LINES: Syria remains deeply divided along ethnic lines, with a series of ongoing “cold wars” underway between minority communities and the new Sunni Arab authorities.

VOLUNTEERS OF the National Guard participate in a simulation training in Sweida in January. Pro-Israel and anti-Damascus regime sentiments typically mark this heartland of the Druze community in Syria.

The illusion of change in Iraq: Baghdad's militia shake-up masks a deeper Iranian strategy

BEHIND THE LINES: The decision by Zaidan’s allies to integrate their armed elements into state security forces represents an effort by a pro-Iranian element to consolidate its power.

Qais al-Khazali, head of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia in Iraq, speaks during a rally last year in Baghdad to present the Sadiqoon Movement ahead of parliamentary elections.

Gig economy terrorism: Ashab al-Yamin's rise brings new terror threat to Europe

BEHIND THE LINES: The emerging evidence suggests that this organization is a front for elements operating on behalf of the Iranian regime.

:ocal residents look on from outside a cordoned-off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London last month, following the stabbing of two people nearby.

Inside the vortex: Why Israel keeps getting dragged into the Lebanese mud

BEHIND THE LINES: The “Lebanese mud,” as the Hebrew phrase has it, never seems quite to be finally scraped off the IDF’s boots.

IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon on April 22, 2026.

'Post' heads to Lebanon: IDF sets position in Ait a Shaab - Reporters Notebook

The Post visited southern Lebanon with the IDF to see the newly established position in Ait a Shaab, a former Hezbollah stronghold.

  IDF's Nahal Infantry Brigade established a position in Ait a Shaab,  southern Lebanon, April 19. 2026.

Iraq’s militia state: Shelly Kittleson’s kidnapping exposes who runs Baghdad

BEHIND THE LINES: Since October 2023, forces associated with the PMF – that is, affiliated with the government of Iraq – engaged in ongoing attacks against US personnel and positions.

US JOURNALIST Shelly Kittleson is pictured in Baghdad on March 31, shortly before she was abducted. Her disappearance has focused attention on the threat posed by Iran-backed militias and the deteriorating security environment in postwar Iraq.

Red Sea arena: Yemen’s Houthis open fourth front in Iran war, with global implications

BEHIND THE LINES: By joining Iran’s war, the Houthis have opened a dangerous new arena – one that could hit global trade, oil flows, and the wider regional balance.

A protester salutes as Houthi supporters demonstrate in solidarity with Iran, in Sana'a, Yemen, March 27, 2026

In Iraq, Iran’s proxy militias open a third front in war against the US and Israel

BEHIND THE LINES: Statistics indicate that a determined Iranian and allied campaign is indeed underway in Iraq, making the country a third front in the current war.

FIRE RAGES outside the grounds of the US Embassy headquarters in Baghdad’s fortified ‘Green Zone’ earlier this week, following a drone and rocket attack according to security officials. Iraq was drawn into the Middle East war after having long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.

Shlomi's war: An IDF reservist's journey from October 7 to political activism

A reservist’s remarkable journey from the Oct. 7 chaos, losing his brother, and fighting for over a year in Gaza – to political activism in order to change the country’s priorities.

SHLOMI DAMRI: Face to face with war.