Policy Analysis

Former American and French ambassadors discuss the regime's calculus and preview the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit in Jerusalem. Watch video or read a summary.

The resilient Muslim Brotherhood is only feeding off Cairo’s repression campaign, which cannot ensure stability indefinitely given the government’s failures on other fronts.

Nearly two years have lapsed since what was supposed to be a political blitzkrieg against Qatar metastasized into economic and geo-strategic trench warfare. Through effective counter-measures—and despite considerable financial drain—Qatar has seemingly been able to withstand the harsh diplomatic and logistic constraints imposed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab

His deep unpopularity made it difficult for many actors at home and abroad to criticize the current government, but Washington still stands to lose rather than gain if it comments on the matter.

There are no optimal options in the current Yemen war, but U.S. policymakers should seize the opportunity to bring Gulf governments into NATO-like agreements that avoid such dilemmas in the future.

Rockets continue to fall on American facilities, part of a deliberate effort to keep Baghdad from making Iraq a neutral crossroads in the region.

Emphasizing stabilization efforts now while at least mentioning Palestinian statehood just might give the Trump peace plan a chance later.

The price of oil is often directly related to global economic prospects, so Washington’s tariff tiff with Beijing could hit regional states doubly hard.

If the president wants to blunt Tehran’s sabotage campaign without a war, he needs to work closely with countries that share a stake in the free flow of oil.

Among other steps, Washington should release more intelligence on Tehran’s efforts to target energy assets while urging Gulf and European allies to visibly step up their military posture.

An Israeli analyst shares observations from an intensive round of discussions with senior Chinese military, diplomatic, and academic officials.

The truth is that Ankara feels threatened by Moscow, but security concerns, mistrust of the West, and an inability to secure American missiles left Erdogan searching for an alternative.

The trial of a senior operative reveals the extent of the terrorist organization’s reach in the United States and Canada.

The latest round of shipping attacks could be another notch in Tehran’s controlled military response to U.S. pressure, and bolder escalatory actions should be expected given the bleak outlook for negotiations.

The Yemeni group appears to select targets directly inspired by its principal complaints, potentially helping security officials protect against future attacks while negotiators promote overall de-escalation.

The slow but steady progress in developing offshore gas fields is transforming local economies and could underpin U.S. peace plans.

Ultimately, sabotage operations in the Gulf may prove to be less impactful than Russian engagement with OPEC, a global economic slowdown, and other geopolitical factors.

Ultimately, no deal is better than a bad deal, and Moscow’s track record in Syria suggests it is both unable and unwilling to keep Iran out.

Although Hezbollah and its allies might use the upcoming talks as a mere stalling tactic, negotiators will still have opportunities to exploit the group’s domestic vulnerabilities.

The Taif Accord, which ended Lebanon’s civil war almost three decades ago, stipulated that the country’s president be Christian, the prime minister be Sunni, and the parliament speaker be Shia. Today, two of these figures—President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—are in their eighties, and both demonstrate sympathy for Hezbollah, the Shia militia and party that serves as a national power broker.