Policy Analysis

The Israeli and U.S. military campaigns revealed how far Moscow and Beijing are willing to go (or not go) in their support for Tehran, providing Washington with opportunities to keep Iran in a weakened position.

Although the summit cancellation is a blow, it could serve as an important moment for reassessment and recalibration rather than signaling the end of international mediation.

The military clash over Iran's nuclear program confirmed what Chinese strategists have long preached: in great-power contests, hard power decides outcomes.

The axis hasn’t fallen apart—if anything, these countries appear willing to work together even more closely now than before the Iran-Israel war.

Hostage-taking has served multiple purposes for Hamas, including a novel use of cognitive warfare. This may prove to be a turning point in terrorist strategy that governments will need to learn how to counter effectively.

The clash occurred when a KH-protected official was removed from a lucrative position that has given the terrorist group access to massive tracts of fertile farming land in southern Baghdad.

The Iranian and Russian regimes have used a wide mix of tactics and operatives to strike at dissidents and other targets in the West, and thwarting them will require more intensive efforts on multiple fronts.

A Syrian official and a panel of experts debate the response to recent sectarian bloodshed in the south, including what must be done to protect minorities and pursue true transitional justice post-Assad.

Israel’s conduct toward the West Bank—which has lately operated top-down and bottom-up like a pincer—could wind up triggering wider outbreaks of violence, preventing expansion of the Abraham Accords, and undermining Jerusalem's traditional bases of support internationally.

Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq are improbably trying to distance themselves from drone strikes in northern Iraq, including multiple attacks on U.S. oil investors.

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.

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.

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.

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.