Policy Analysis

Join us for an expert conversation on the lessons of decades of American diplomacy in the Middle East. Watch live starting at 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) on Thursday, January 8, 2026.

Since the June war, Tehran has hastily doubled down on Russian and Chinese partnerships to weather sanctions and deter future attacks, but Moscow and Beijing are hesitant to invest deeply in return—and Washington should make sure they stay that way.

A veteran American diplomat offers a compelling, first-hand account of U.S. foreign policy and crisis management in the Middle East from 2004 to 2020.

By comparing the outcome of Iraq's recent elections with the country's demographic trends, a clear difference emerges between the proportion of Iraqis whose votes are represented in the new parliament and the Iraqi population writ large.

Watch video or read a summary of the minister’s observations on a multitude of crucial issues, from Hezbollah disarmament and long-term Israeli peace to relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey.

Defining victory in Gaza is hardly simple when Hamas is still armed, ruling nearly half the Strip, and flush with significant diplomatic achievements.

Democratic backsliding, sluggish trade reforms, and other maladies have left the country's ports insufficiently attractive to investment heavyweights like the United States and China.

The vessel's tracked activities and suspicious data transmissions should be investigated for potential illicit transactions with Iran and the former Assad regime.

Despite rhetoric to the contrary, neither side can claim a decisive win, and an uneasy status quo could persist as long as Trump, the ceasefire guarantors, and Israeli leaders keep a lid on their frustrations.

Barring sustained U.S. efforts, Gaza’s de facto division into Hamas and Israeli zones will likely persist, and the ceasefire will be remembered as just the prelude to the next conflict.

U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE are on a collision course in Yemen, as local forces threaten to reopen a war that could boost the Houthis, deepen Red Sea instability, and otherwise undermine the Trump administration’s Middle East goals.

The Houthis, STC, and other players are making moves that could spark a new civil war in Yemen, potentially upending the perceived balance of power ushered in by the Gaza truce.

Given the group's hostile long-term goals, the Trump administration needs an empowered envoy to lead several projects in parallel, from developing a capable Palestinian security force and replacing the PA’s leadership to curtailing Israeli fringe elements and resuming Arab normalization talks.

Amid mounting domestic pressure on President Saied, the Trump administration should take modest but useful and forward-looking steps like lifting tariffs, supporting less-politicized trade projects, and otherwise backing the people’s vision for a more prosperous future.

The process has become less about peace and more about political survival for those spearheading Sudan’s catastrophic war.

The success of the administration’s new approach hinges on updating U.S. government tools and structures needed to fuel its ambitions and manage the associated strategic risks.

To prevent hawkish actors from once again seizing the initiative, Kurdish, Sunni Arab, and moderate Shia factions need to come together during the post-election period and work on fundamental tasks like implementing the constitution and strengthening institutions.

Some European governments have been aggressive in prosecuting the group’s continental financiers, but not aggressive enough, while others have yet to take any substantive action.

Washington Institute experts and former officials lay out the urgent need for clarity on vital questions related to U.S. oversight, the stalled International Stabilization Force, Israel’s red lines, Hamas opposition to multilateral proposals, the contours of the PA’s role, and more.

If Netanyahu and Sisi meet this month, Washington should press both leaders to treat the summit as the beginning of a structured trilateral process on Gaza, not a one-off symbolic encounter.