The Biden administration announced on Friday a decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus for the coming fiscal year. This laudable step recognizes Nicosia's progress related to financial reforms and denying port calls of the Russian navy.

More importantly, it offers a valuable opportunity, with some delicate diplomatic maneuvering, to reach an agreement with Nicosia to transfer some of its Russian-made arms to Ukraine in return for the provision of modern US equipment and other security assistance.

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In the wake of the May 2021 Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, reports in Israel suggested that Iran helped the terrorist group out of a Lebanon-based nerve center or joint operations room. Reports concerning this nerve center are scarce. However, what is known is cause for significant concern, particularly if the goal is to prevent future conflict in the Middle East.

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Negotiations in Vienna are proceeding in fits and starts to revive an even shorter and weaker version of the 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The last deal raised significant alarm around the region, as a cash windfall of billions of dollars resulting from sanctions relief flowed downstream to Tehran's terrorist proxies, including the Lebanese Hezbollah. This new agreement is estimated to provide Iran with as much as $275 billion in first year sanctions relief, and as much as $1 trillion by the start of 2030,¹ just before most of the restrictions on Tehran's nuclear program expire.

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A photo, first posted on an anonymous Twitter account, circulated last week among terrorism watchers here in Washington. It received scant attention in the mainstream media. The now authenticated photo, dated 2015, shows three of al Qaeda's top leaders smiling casually. Their names: Saif al Adel, Abu Muhammad al Masri, and Abu al Khayr al Masri. Their location: Tehran.

All three men served in key leadership positions for the world's most dangerous terrorist organization. And all three men were apparently circulating freely in Iran.

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President Biden's travel to Saudi Arabia last month yielded little improvement in the relationship between the Biden administration and the Saudi government under Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman. Distrust lingers. Yet, the Biden administration could take a unilateral step that would not only help mend the rift between the US and Saudi Arabia, but correct a foreign policy mistake: redesignate the Yemeni Houthi organization, also known as Ansar Allah, for terrorism sanctions.

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