All Policy Analysis by Michael Singh

The latest provocation reinforces the need for any nuclear agreement with Iran to include strong enforcement mechanisms and swift and severe penalties for cheating.

The failure of the U.S. campaign to dissuade allies from joining China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was greeted in some quarters as a sign of American decline. But this episode was not a crisis of American power, which remains unequaled. And while the threat that the bank poses to that

If negotiators don't believe they can reach an agreement that addresses Iran's destabilizing regional activities, they should indicate how they will plug the holes in the current deal.

If Washington and its negotiating partners do not adjust their approach, the talks could be remembered not as a signature foreign policy accomplishment, but as a case study of a powerful country playing a strong hand poorly.

In this video,Institute Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow Michael Singh notes that the nuclear framework agreement announced on April 2 between Iran and the P5+1 presents impediments to Iran's ability to create a weapon, but does not completely eliminate its nuclear program. President Obama must now reassure U.S. allies

Although the newly released terms cover more ground than skeptics had feared, significant questions linger on almost every major issue, particularly with regard to enforcement.

To gain skeptics' support, the president needs to make the substantive case for his Iran policy and be willing to take their concerns on board.

Whatever one thinks of the circumstances of his address, Netanyahu raised concrete concerns that should not simply be dismissed.

Repair efforts should focus on shaping a worthwhile Iran agreement, addressing the growing instability and terrorist threats on Israel's borders, and rebuilding trust in the peace process.

Advocates of increased pressure on Moscow received good news last week with the European Union decision to extend its sanctions by six months. There had been concerns that Greece’s new left-wing government would obstruct the renewal. Yet this bit of progress obscures deeper problems: Athens successfully lobbied to remove any

To build pressure toward a viable agreement, Washington and its negotiating partners should refrain from further extensions of the JPOA, warn Iran that sanctions will be reimposed if no deal is reached by a date certain, and counter destabilizing Iranian regional activities.

Given the uncertainties surrounding the Iranian regime's internal struggle, Washington should not pin its hopes on President Rouhani's camp, whose regional strategy appears to converge with that of the hardliners.

The president's legacy will be evaluated on his foreign policy accomplishments, not just the errors he believes he has avoided.

When it comes to Tehran, Havana, and similar regimes, the Obama administration must be more careful to treat engagement as a means, not an end.

The decline in oil prices will depress the regime's revenues, and the threat of increased sanctions is newly credible given the composition of the next Congress.

Washington needs to change the negotiating dynamics so that the next round of talks is more successful than the past year's efforts.