Policy Analysis

The current holder of the highest clerical rank in Shia Islam is eighty-nine-year-old Ali al-Sistani, who is based in Najaf, Iraq. Sistani has played an important role in Iraq’s post-Saddam era, supporting political reconciliation and a constitution-based society. While the transnational reach of marjaiya will likely diminish after Sistani leaves the scene, the specific contours of this shift and Tehran's efforts to intervene remain an open question.

Riyadh’s hopes of raising money through a partial sell-off of Saudi Aramco depend on the price of oil, which failed to rise sufficiently under the previous minister.

Whenever nuclear weapons technology appears in the hands of Israel’s enemies, Pyongyang is usually involved.

Two Washington Institute fellows join the children of former Israeli prime ministers to discuss how their legacy of leadership informs the country’s biggest looming challenge: maintaining the possibility of separation from the Palestinians.

Without a concerted international effort to ground UAVs and halt the flow of weapons, the UN will have minimal leverage to restart the country's long-stalled political transition.

Early Islamic traditions—compiled in the centuries following Islam’s formative phase through the literary corpus of Sirah (Biography of the Prophet) and Hadith (Acts and sayings of the Prophet)—openly drew on accounts from Jewish converts to Islam (Isra‘iliyyat). While classical Islamic scholars have generally discounted the value of these accounts, they

In the course of the past century, a troubling development has asserted itself in Islamic thought. Whether in scholarly religious texts or in popular presentations, a new Islamic “theology of the Jews” has coalesced into a thorough demonization of both historical and contemporary ‘Jews.’ In this evolving and radicalizing theological

A recent survey suggests an immediate opening for Washington to promote certain reforms, but real reconciliation still looks like a distant dream.

As tensions continue to escalate between the United States and Iran, Iraq finds itself struggling to maintain a balancing act. In an attempt to curb Iranian influence and respond to U.S. pressure, Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has moved to integrate the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hash al Shaabi, into

Amidst all the turmoil of Israel’s unprecedented second national election within six months, due on September 17, one key yet often overlooked factor stands out: the decisively right-wing role of the small religious parties. Despite the high birth rate of the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox groups, they still get only about

The architects of a landmark shift in IDF doctrine explain why the change was necessary, and how it has helped delay full-scale war even while forcefully confronting Tehran’s hegemonic ambitions.

Whoever wins the next election may need to make a courageous political decision about separating from the Palestinians before that option disappears forever.

The latest string of roller-coaster military developments underlines the need for continued U.S. efforts to guide Saudi, Emirati, and Yemeni officials away from dangerous choices.

Modern Israel's founding fathers provided some of the boldest and most principled leadership of any nation. Now Israel needs their example more than ever.