Policy Analysis

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.

Strong outside supervision over Lebanon’s implementation of the Hezbollah disarmament plan could help forestall looming Israeli military escalation and protect recent diplomatic milestones on the road toward an eventual peace treaty.

Join us for a special conversation with His Excellence Youssef Raggi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of the Republic of Lebanon. Watch live starting at 12:00 noon EST (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, December 23, 2025.

Although some Christians have been targeted post-Assad, these incidents are hardly an attempted "genocide," but rather part of the broader internal security challenge affecting all communities in Syria, including the majority population.

A former U.S. envoy to Syria joins an expert on President Sharaa’s ruling faction to discuss how Damascus should approach governance issues one year after the fall of Assad.

In addition to providing discounted crude of a quality desired by American refiners, the resumption of oil flows via the ITP is already showing promise of furthering U.S. policy toward partners and adversaries alike.

The transitional leadership can claim several successes, but a shadow government, opaque economic practices, and uneven accountability for former regime crimes could undermine progress.

For the Gaza ceasefire to survive, each side will need to address the persistent challenges of West Bank settler violence and Hamas weapons.

Washington and its allies are waiting for Beirut to acknowledge the difficult but unavoidable truth: that war will resume unless serious action is taken to target all the pillars of Hezbollah’s power, bolster Shia political alternatives, and otherwise satisfy the ceasefire’s most important requirement: disarming the group.

Reservoirs are drying up due to systemic mismanagement and other problems, and regime officials do not appear willing or able to undertake the necessary fixes.

Although Washington should keep pressing the Lebanese government to seize weapons and prosecute political assassins, the chances of Beirut actually confronting the militia appear increasingly slim.

For many Iraqis who dreamed of a state built on the rule of law and robust institutions, the outcome of this year’s vote feels like a major setback.

Moscow won’t feel the pain as long as China keeps buying, but Washington can change Beijing’s calculus by threatening to block access to the U.S. financial system.

With President Trump recently pledging to help Saudi Arabia and other regional partners broker a ceasefire, his administration should focus on pressuring the external spoilers who have fueled the fighting.

Instead of pinning a terrorist designation on the entire group, the Trump administration should focus more narrowly on the national security threats presented by individual Brotherhood branches and organizations, especially those funding Hamas.

As the Saudi crown prince visits Washington, the United States should use the occasion—as well as American leverage—to roll back China’s influence in the country.

A historic city has fallen, but if the world listens carefully, it may yet rise again as a catalyst for a different path in which power flows from legitimacy, not force.

Sudani did very well at the ballot box, but the peculiarities of Iraq’s long government formation process and the final distribution of parliamentary seats may leave the main Iran-backed coalition in the driver’s seat.

For the United States and Saudi Arabia to both win in today’s competitive global ecosystem, they need each other, and the Trump administration is poised to cap years of bipartisan effort by taking the relationship to new levels.