Policy Analysis

Until now, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been happy with the comparisons his hard-core supporters make between him and Ali ibn Abi Talib—Shia Islam’s first divinely ordained Imam. Ironically, this insistence on Khamenei’s infallability, combined with the current acquiescence to strategic flexibility or policy concession, is eroding that sense of trust with Khamenei’s core base of hardline supporters.

In this second of several daily videos from Washington Institute scholars, Ambassador Dennis Ross reviews activity on the first day of President Trump's May 2025 trip to the Gulf region.

The recent flare-up of violence in southern Syria has once again exposed the fragility of the country’s post-Assad order and minority communities’ underlying fears that the current government is unwilling or incapable of establishing a government that ensures minority rights or ensuring the safety of all Syrians against militia factions.

In this first of several daily videos from Washington Institute scholars, Dana Stroul previews the destinations and agendas of President Trump's May 2025 trip to the Gulf region.

Experts and former diplomats discuss what Gulf leaders are expecting from the trip, including which regional issues they are most keen on adding to the planned slate of business talks.

Now that Libya has become an outright kleptocracy—with billions missing from the public treasury and national politics frozen—the Trump administration may need to throw a sanctions “grenade” into the mix.

The militia continues to battle with the PMF secretary-general, this time highlighting his alleged promotion of Turkish interests in the hope of undermining him.

Watch or read an in-depth conversation with three experts who have spent weeks on the ground in Syria and met with the interim authorities who toppled the Assad regime.

With signs of fewer Iraqis prioritizing their national identity, Iraqis are likely to see another elections cycle shaped by subnational identities in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The president is expected to focus on big investment deals and arms sales during his Gulf tour, but he also needs to address some urgent security issues if he wants to come home with a win.

Regime officials and the Supreme Leader himself have signaled a willingness to make unprecedented concessions, but taking advantage of this opening will require careful U.S. messaging on counterterrorism, regional deterrence, and human rights.

After a stunning blow to their mutual Iranian enemy, Israel and Turkey should use close defense and intelligence dialogue to navigate Syria’s extraordinary period of flux and craft a new regional order.

As the U.S. administration shifts towards an economics-first approach to foreign policy, Jordan will need to find ways to emphasize the benefits of the two countries' decades-long broader strategic relationship in public messaging—both for its own national security interests and as a way to assuage public concerns.

Terrorist organizations are exploiting Iraq’s energy sector to the tune of billions of dollars per year, raising the need for more intensive efforts to trace how revenues are routed into oil “voucher” programs and other diversion schemes.

Even if Washington were willing to support indefinite military occupation, escalating in Gaza would increase the risk to hostages, the strain on the IDF’s reserves, and the discord Israel has faced at home and abroad.

Tehran cannot enjoy the economic benefits it seeks while under sanction, but some sanctions will necessarily remain in place as long as it continues sponsoring terrorism, leaving negotiators with little choice but to address issues beyond the nuclear program.

In its first statement since October, a notorious Kataib Hezbollah Telegram account offered a deeper dive into how the "resistance" views a range of new developments in Iraq, Syria, and Iran.

A year and a half of multifront warfare holds lessons for Israel's approach to regional security, peacemaking, and U.S. relations.

Iraq's self-styled "resistance" had an allergic reaction to the idea of Syria's new president setting foot on Iraqi soil, putting Prime Minister Sudani at odds with some of his terrorist supporters.

With the group and its Iranian patrons at their weakest point in decades, Beirut has a real opportunity to restore its sovereignty, but waiting for another futile “national dialogue” may close that window.