Policy Analysis

As wider peace negotiations continue, U.S. officials should carefully consider the many moving parts needed for a proxies deal to succeed—and what Washington would do if Tehran starts flagrantly violating its terms.

If the international community lags on the Sudan file or allows local forces to keep treating peace conferences as just another arena for their rivalries, the result will be even more space for bad actors to massacre civilians and loot the country’s wealth.

Three former U.S. policy practitioners experienced in negotiating with Iran discuss what kind of agreement is possible, what each side may require to make it happen, and how officials in Washington, Israel, the Gulf states, and Europe should address emerging differences in their objectives.

Even if Washington somehow convinces Iran to cut off support for groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, this would not eliminate the threat they pose.

As seen with Hamas during the Gaza war, media outlets and international officials are spreading untruths about Israel’s latest campaign against Hezbollah; thankfully, the playbook for countering them is clear this time.

Why did the group strike now, what might they do next, and how could it affect the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran?

The crisis will challenge economic and political stability in the Maghreb countries, but they will also have opportunities—with Washington’s help—to fortify their prewar progress by filling gaps in global energy markets and other key sectors affected by the war.

However the conflict ends, it has already delivered pivotal lessons on U.S. military innovation and political strategy, the continued dominance of hydrocarbons, the future posture of regional and external powers, and more.

Trump’s fifteen-point peace proposal suggests that he recognizes the need to find an off-ramp, but Washington must stay committed to that path to avoid a Russian-style quagmire.

His appointment as SNSC secretary shows that the regime is relying on a veteran hardliner to manage the crisis and preserve control.

The monthlong conflict and developments in Gaza have weakened the terrorist group’s connection to Tehran, offering Washington an opportunity to achieve its goals by working through Qatar and Turkey as well as Egypt.

With its leadership badly damaged and its security establishment humiliated by deep intelligence infiltration, the desperate regime likely sees little downside in setting caution aside and greenlighting a wide variety of international attacks.

The U.S. metric for effective cooperation shouldn’t be whether Syria is willing to fight Iran’s proxies in Lebanon or Iraq, but whether it continues advancing regional stability by securing its borders, limiting the flow of Iranian weapons and fighters, and coordinating politically with neighbors.

A trio of leading regional journalists discuss how Emiratis, Israelis, and Jordanians are weathering the Iran crisis, what outcomes they are rooting for, and how their relations with Washington and each other might evolve as a result.

If Washington wants to calm the markets and reach its other energy objectives more quickly, it will have to find a way of de-escalating a shipping crisis that Tehran is clearly taking advantage of in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond.

For the estimated 7 to 15 million Kurds in Iran, the current war represents a narrow window for change, albeit one where the parameters are unclear.

Loosening Tehran’s grip on the strait and its disruption of the global economy would entail not only reducing threats to navigation, but also increasing pressure on the Iranian economy in order to deter further attacks and create leverage for diplomacy.

Three experts examine how Moscow, Beijing, and European capitals are navigating the crisis and what their choices reveal about the future of the global order.

The war’s effects on Syria have largely fallen below the radar, yet no one should forget how much has changed there since 2024, nor how important it is to preserve the government’s accomplishments against Iran and its partners while acknowledging the conflict’s local economic consequences.

Tehran helped the Assad regime crush unarmed protests with staggering violence; now it has turned those same tactics on its own people.