The Soufan Center

06/12/2026

🇨🇦🤝🇺🇸 The economic ties between Canada and the United States remain among the strongest in the world. In 2025, 73% of Canada’s exports were destined for the U.S., while 46% of Canada’s imports came from its southern neighbor.

📖 Read more in this week’s IntelBrief.

06/12/2026

🇲🇱 In Mali: "Two decades of counter-terrorism focused primarily on military force have failed to produce positive outcomes. Instead, a return to broader counterinsurgency approaches combining military pressure, intelligence operations, political negotiations, and local mediation appears necessary."

✍️ TSC Senior Research Fellow Wassim Nasr writes with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)

The coordinated offensive launched in late April 2026 by the jihadi group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Tuareg dominated separatist Front de Libération de l’Azawad (FLA) marked a decisive turning point in the conflict dynamics of Mali and the broader Sahel.

06/11/2026

: Iran War Re-Ignites and Expands, Linking Multiple Fronts

🔗 link in bio

06/11/2026

🎤 Join our upcoming event: 'The Soft Underbelly of Great Power Competition in the AI Era: Software Understanding and Strategic Risk.' Our lineup of speakers will include:

▫️ Chris Inglis, former US National Cyber Director (2021-2023) and Deputy Director of the NSA (2006-2014)
▫️ Anjana Rajan, Co-founder & CEO of Atalanta
▫️ Colin P. Clarke, Executive Director of The Soufan Center
▫️ Chad C. Serena, Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center
▫️ Clara Broekaert, Research Analyst at The Soufan Center

▫️ Moderated by Steve Clemons, Editor at Large of the National Interest

📆 June 23 | 🕑 14:00 | 📍 Washington, D.C.

▶️ Register your interest here https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=aCaxf72P1EKs1hgo3u7F1LEjBuVPUHdAqdisus7Q7CdUN05QRUw3NFY2NjBEWjVITUVZVlNERkMzNS4u

06/11/2026

IntelBrief: Iran War Re-Ignites and Expands, Linking Multiple Fronts

Bottom Line Up Front

🔹The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran war continues to expand in scope and complexity as all sides issue new red lines and Iran demands constraints on Israel on several regional fronts.

🔹President Trump is trying to deny his wartime partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a veto over U.S. terms for a settlement with Tehran.

🔹Iranian leaders no longer view their regional allies as instruments of deterrence and power projection, but as ideological partners that Tehran must protect from Israel and the U.S.

🔹Although cautious not to break sharply with Trump, Netanyahu views Hezbollah as an existential threat to northern Israel and will continue to combat the group despite formal ceasefire agreements.

Read more👇 https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2026-june-11/

06/11/2026

"Countering hybrid warfare requires far deeper intelligence integration among allies. Intelligence sharing can no longer remain confined to elite classified exchanges between a handful of services. Governments must create real-time intelligence fusion across cyber defense agencies, financial regulators, military commands, law enforcement, border security organizations, and private-sector infrastructure operators."

✍️ Read a new piece by TSC's Colin P. Clarke and Christopher Costa with The Cipher Brief

The hybrid threat challenge facing Europe today is reminiscent of the terrorist threat challenge of the post-9/11 Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) era. Because of that similarity, the alliance should adapt the counterterrorism cooperation model developed over the last twenty years.As European security...

06/10/2026

and have found a cheap, deniable playbook for destabilizing the West: recruit disposable agents, exploit social fault lines, and let the chaos do the rest.

In a new Washington Post Opinions op-ed, Colin P. Clarke and Adrian Shtuni explain why it's time for Western governments to take these hybrid threats more seriously.

🔗 Read the full piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/06/09/how-europe-became-iran-playground-terror/

06/10/2026

: USMCA Review Tests North American Trade Amid Growing U.S.-Canada Frictions

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🔗 link in bio

06/10/2026

: USMCA Review Tests North American Trade Amid Growing U.S.-Canada Frictions

Bottom Line Up Front

🔹 The upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), planned for July 1, has emerged as a political and economic test of the trilateral relationship of North America’s largest economies amidst strained relations between the U.S. and Canada.

🔹The review comes amidst the continued expansion of competition with China, persistent supply chain disruptions, and shifting alliances within the geopolitical theater.

🔹Canada’s shift reflects a growing consensus amongst Canadian policymakers that the U.S. has become a less predictable and reliable partner, incentivizing the country to carve its own new path with new foreign partners.

🔹Canada’s absence in trade talks will likely reinforce its position to continue reducing its reliance — both economically and militarily — on the U.S. and pursue diversification of both commercial and security ties with actors both in the Americas and further abroad, marking a new chapter in Canadian foreign policy.

Read more👇 https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2026-june-10/

06/09/2026

How Gangs, Criminal Syndicates, and Lone Wolves Are Joining ’s War.

A recent murder-for-hire plot in the UK highlights a growing trend: Iran and its proxies are increasingly relying on criminal networks and unaffiliated individuals to carry out attacks on their behalf.

explains how this tactic works – and why it’s becoming increasingly difficult for authorities to track and prevent.

There’s a lot more to this story. Read today’s IntelBrief to get the full picture. 🔗 Link in bio.