War in the Middle East and your guide to U.S. military actions
Council on Foreign Relations

Preventive Action Update

March 26, 2026

Leadership Transition in Iran

An Iranian woman holding a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei walks under a large flag during the forty-seventh anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2026.

An Iranian woman holding a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei walks under a large flag during the forty-seventh anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)

The death of Iran’s supreme leader and the ongoing U.S.-Iran-Israel conflict open a serious set of questions about the future for Iran’s people and U.S. engagement with Iran. Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy program, lays out the United States’ options. Read the full report

Preventing Renewed Conflict in Colombia

CFR International Affairs Fellow in National Security Roxanna Vigil argues that the United States should engage early with Colombia’s next administration to signal support for full implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords and provide targeted assistance to prevent the resurgence of conflict. Her analysis comes as Colombia faces worsening violence, incomplete accords implementation, and a growing risk of regional instability, which threaten a key U.S. partnership. Read more

A Guide to Trump’s Second-Term Military Strikes and Actions

A drone view of the aftermath of a U.S. strike on the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen on April 18, 2025.

A drone view of the aftermath of a U.S. strike on the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen on April 18, 2025. (Al-Masirah TV/Reuters)

Abi McGowan, Molly Carlough, and Natalie Caloca of CFR’s Center for Preventive Action detail the second Trump administration’s military operations in nine countries since the president entered office. Read the guide

Iran’s War With Israel and the United States

CFR’s “Global Conflict Tracker” traces developments in the ongoing U.S.-Iran-Israel conflict. Track the war

Members of the U.S. military carry out a transfer of the remains of a U.S. Marine Corps lance corporal who died in Saudi Arabia, at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, on March 4, 2026.

Members of the U.S. military carry out a transfer of the remains of a U.S. Marine Corps lance corporal who died in Saudi Arabia, at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, on March 4, 2026. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

Four Years of War in Ukraine: Adapting to New Realities

Ukrainian industry, government, and society, along with Europe and NATO, are adjusting to a new world of challenges as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on. CFR’s Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Liana Fix, Thomas Graham, Paul B. Stares, Sam Vigersky, and Benjamin Harris explore five of the most urgent issues at hand in a series of Ukraine Policy Briefs marking the war’s fourth anniversary. Read the briefs

U.S. Confrontation With Venezuela

The United States targeted Venezuela on January 3 with special forces in a law enforcement operation that culminated in the extraction of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. CFR’s “Global Conflict Tracker” is tracking developments in Venezuela and its region. Follow the situation

A firefighter gestures near a destroyed antiaircraft unit at La Carlota military air base after U.S. strikes in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026.

A firefighter gestures near a destroyed antiaircraft unit at La Carlota military air base after U.S. strikes in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)

 

About The Center for Preventive Action

The Center for Preventive Action (CPA) aims to help policymakers devise timely and practical strategies to prevent and mitigate armed conflict around the world, especially in places where U.S. interests are most at risk. Geopolitical friction among the major powers is intensifying, creating serious risks of armed conflict, while the effects of climate change and other threats to international peace and security are evolving in new and destabilizing ways. CPA’s work is focused on trying to anticipate how and where those challenges could arise, and which are more deserving of attention than others, so that policymakers can prioritize and craft sensible preventive measures.

Paul B. Stares

General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Wachenheim Center for Peace and Security

Natalie Caloca

Assistant Director, Wachenheim Center for Peace and Security

Molly Carlough

Program Coordinator, Wachenheim Center for Peace and Security

Abi McGowan

Global Conflict Analyst

Council on Foreign Relations

58 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065

1777 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006

 

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