While Islamic State (IS) formally claimed responsibility for only one of the deadly terror attacks that have struck Paris, Nice, and Vienna in recent weeks, Shiraz Maher sees its influence manifest in all of them. And even if Europe is no stranger to the group’s depredations, Maher detects a troubling pattern in the current spate:

Since the year began, the IDF has stepped up its attacks on Iranian positions in Syria, striking more targets and going deeper into Syrian territory than usual. Meanwhile, Tehran has increased its enrichment of uranium, moving ever closer to building nuclear weapons. Efraim Inbar addresses the situation in depth: