Policy Analysis

Join us for an expert webcast examining the recent sectarian bloodshed in southern Syria and what steps the new government in Damascus can take to protect minorities during the transition to a stable post-Assad regime. Watch live starting at 11:00 a.m. (1500 GMT) on Monday, July 28, 2025.

The kingdom’s recent announcement of billions in U.S. investments reflects both a strong commitment to C-SIPA and a wider Gulf alignment with the Trump administration’s foreign policy priorities.

While the recent military strikes against its nuclear program may further incentivize Tehran to go for the bomb, they may also complicate such efforts and give Washington more leverage to dissuade it.

Despite years of Houthi control, there remains local resistance forces who hope to take back the area from a group who occupied the Tihama region in order to control the strategic port of al-Hudayda and the area's other resources.

An Iran-linked propaganda and paramilitary formation with stated ambitions to form a new anti-government insurgent and political structure in Syria.

The deep problems within the transitional government’s security ranks have once again been tragically exposed, so the Trump administration should increase pressure on the foreign fighter issue and related matters—for the sake of Syria’s minorities and U.S. regional interests alike.

The rudderless group is drifting between those who argue for cutting its losses and those who believe it can still hold onto power in Gaza by playing the hostage card well and securing patchwork assistance from abroad.

After seeing President Clinton’s chance at a deal slip away, America’s former top peace envoy explains how Trump has a wide—but brief—window to press Arab and Israeli leaders on resolving the Gaza conflict and other regional issues.

A prevalent theme in this year's election could be the need to bring militia arms under control, and the latest back-and-forth on the issue nearly led to major fighting in Baghdad.

The latest attacks make clear that the international community must guarantee the freedom and safety of all ships transiting the Red Sea, combining a permanent military mission with assistance from regional countries and private security firms.

Tribal militias in Gaza can offer limited tactical help if they are carefully monitored and managed, but relying on them would just be another way of delaying the more important work of formulating postwar political arrangements.

Regardless of rhetoric, Erdogan quietly benefits from conflicts like the recent twelve-day war between Israel and Iran—both in terms of bolstering Ankara's regional profile and in deflecting attention from domestic issues.

Washington should help Algiers embrace greater openness, both to promote stability in North Africa and to advance U.S. interests like counterterrorism and economic competition with China.

A panel of American, Israeli, and Syrian experts discuss the prospects of cooperation and normalization between the two longtime belligerents, including the U.S. role in achieving such a deal.

In a sector (and region) where conditions can change on a dime, the role of President Trump’s recently established "National Energy Dominance Council" is difficult to define.

Tehran’s Iraqi proxies mostly sat out the twelve-day war, but this pragmatic restraint will not forestall growing U.S.-Iran competition over Iraq’s airspace, economic partnerships, and other sectors.

Although skepticism is understandable given the background of those now leading Syria’s government and security forces, removing the FTO designation is an unprecedented counterterrorism decision with numerous potential benefits and ripple effects.

Haider al-Musawi may have been (unsuccessfully) securing the move of a senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative through Iraq into Iran.

After giving Lebanese officials a much-needed ultimatum for disarming Hezbollah and implementing financial reforms, Washington is now in danger of letting them once again punt these all-important tasks.

Despite long opposing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Ankara has a strong national security interest in avoiding moves that result in either direct Turkish hostilities with Iran or the collapse of the Islamic Republic.