The US and Israel have launched major strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation across the region and raising fears of wider war.

As tensions escalate around the Strait of Hormuz and across the region, the implications extend far beyond the Middle East. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Burcu Ozcelik, RUSI Senior Research Fellow, and Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a specialist on Iranian and regional politics and an Associate Fellow with RUSI, to analyse the regional and global significance of the crisis.

This episode explores:

• What the US and Israel are seeking to achieve, and how Iran is responding.
• Whether the strikes could threaten the survival of Iran's political system established in 1979.
• The risks of escalation and miscalculation across Iraq, Lebanon, the Gulf, and the Red Sea.
• The prospects for leadership disruption, succession dynamics, and elite cohesion inside Iran.
• The potential roles of Russia and China as diplomatic or strategic actors.
• The UK's response and whether it has adopted the right approach.
• Key scenarios for how the conflict may evolve in the coming days.

Ukraine, its European backers and the United States have drawn closer to agreeing a blueprint for peace, but various questions remain.

Can anyone accept Russian sincerity? How to treat Moscow's demands for territory in the Donbas, and beyond? And what is to be made of Russia's attitude towards security guarantees for Ukraine?

In this bonus episode of GSB, we hear from a panel of experts on the prospects for peace, four years on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Their remarks were recorded during a RUSI event on Tuesday 24 February 2026: Recording: Ukraine: Prospects for Peace, Four Years After Russia's Invasion | Royal United Services Institute.

In an hour-long discussion, the RUSI panellists, including Dr Neil Melvin, Director of International Security, Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences, Dr Maryna Vorotnyuk, Associate Fellow and Dr Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director, tackled a wide range of questions relating to:

• What a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might look like.

• The role of the rest of Europe in supporting Ukraine and applying pressure to Russia.

• Key challenges and opportunities for rebuilding Ukraine's post-war infrastructure.

Become a RUSI member today to access the full recording: Membership.

Following Washington's emphasis on the Western Hemisphere in its 2025 National Security Strategy, this episode examines Cuba, Venezuela and the intensifying US-China competition in Latin America.

In this episode, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Brian Fonseca, Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University, and Dr Carlos Solar, Senior Research Fellow for Latin American Security at RUSI, to assess how the Trump administration's 'America First' strategy is reshaping security and geopolitics across the Americas, and what the shift means for regional stability and US global priorities.

This discussion explores:

· The elevation of the Western Hemisphere to the top tier of US national security priorities.

· Cuba's re-emergence as a strategic concern, including energy pressure, migration controls and intelligence considerations.

· Venezuela's uncertain transition following US intervention and the risks of proxy competition.

· The expansion of bilateral security agreements and US military deployments in the Caribbean basin.

· The implications of this hemispheric focus for US alliances and global commitments.

· Whether Latin America is becoming an arena for US-China strategic rivalry.