Policy Analysis

Watch an expert preview of next month's NATO summit in Ankara as the alliance deals with lingering tensions from Ukraine, Iran, and other crises.

This landmark document offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build real peace between Beirut and Jerusalem, but progress needs to be swift and visible given the threat of violent opposition from Iran and its local allies.

The potential upsides of implementing the Trump administration’s poorly conceived idea are negligible at best, while the downsides would be legion, including further damage to Middle East stability and American interests.

Constricted traffic patterns, escalating warnings, uncertain mine threats, and a new drone attack all suggest that Tehran has no intention of willingly going back to business as usual in the Strait of Hormuz, regardless of diplomatic breakthroughs.

Whatever course Iran and the wider Middle East may take following the war, Russia is well positioned for the aftermath.

The task now is not to achieve an unattainable final victory, but to consolidate allied gains, prevent bad outcomes on the nuclear and navigational files, and ensure that Iran remains weaker than when conflict first broke out in 2023.

By incorporating Ukraine and other like-minded states from the Middle East and Asia, the G7 Summit highlighted the net progress made on countering Iranian, Russian, and Chinese threats to the American-led global security and economic system.

Although claimed compromises by some of Iran’s proxies are unlikely to result in actual disarmament anytime soon, Washington can still erode Tehran’s illicit financial networks by carefully exploiting the militias’ desire to be treated as normal political actors.

An in-depth look at why the board’s lack of progress in Gaza makes it unlikely to serve its envisioned role of resolving conflicts around the world.

Three experts discuss the terms, gaps, and wider regional implications of the new MOU, including how it is being received inside the Gulf states and Iran.

Although the United States and the world needed shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz, negotiating a nuclear agreement is not a postwar priority.

Although the U.S. military approach to the region has delivered many operational successes, the Iran war has exposed its serious shortcomings and created new challenges.

Presidential spats with Israeli prime ministers are nothing new, and scapegoating America’s most capable ally in the Middle East would mean more work for U.S. forces, not less.

With the regime still in place, the war has left ordinary Iranians worse off, and U.S. policy has compounded their sense of abandonment.

A young government working to secure its own territory is poorly positioned to open new fronts outside its borders, and Hezbollah would quickly exploit such a move to its advantage.

Three experts discuss the fallout from the latest military strikes, along with the potential contours and implications of a newly announced agreement to halt the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

As a landmark tool for monitoring the group’s activity hits another sobering milestone, U.S. officials cannot let regional crises completely overshadow important shifts in jihadist threats around the world.

The Egyptian pound is weathering significant challenges to its stability as the Iran war continues to impact oil markets and Egypt's revenue streams, raising concerns about the longterm impact of continued conflict.

Asian market realities and the ongoing risks to energy investments inside Syria may put a damper on any large-scale infrastructure plans, though Damascus can better its prospects through further stabilization and reform efforts.

Whether the U.S. truce with Iran breaks down or winds up rewarding the regime, the previously restrained Houthis may take it as a signal to resume their own aggression.