Policy Analysis

What can the Trump administration do to shape Iran’s choices?

The world oil market will be the most sensitive indicator of how increased sanctions affect Iran.

Trying to stop Iran’s nuclear proliferation is a task better suited to allied intelligence services than customs authorities and procurement channels.

An unprecedented attack by a female bomber should not come as a surprise considering the spike in women’s jihadist activism since 2011.

Washington’s abrupt change in tone could bolster the UN envoy’s efforts to end the fighting and convene negotiations sooner rather than later.

The upcoming Palermo conference should be used to facilitate UN-led dialogue between Libyan groups, not to score points in a European diplomatic spat.

Washington can use sanctions as leverage to demand more vigilance from JCPOA signatories even as it allows certain useful procurements.

Rather than limiting itself to half-measures, Washington should suspend the delivery of offensive weapons and take other steps that convince Riyadh to change the way it operates.

Hardliners see the latest pressure as proof that defiance works better than compromise—an attitude they are likely to change only if the pressure intensifies.

Among the opposition parties operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, the largest is the Gorran Movement (Movement for Change). Founded in 2009 by Nawshirwan Mustafa, former Deputy Secretary of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Gorran movement advocates for reform measures and its members have vowed to fight against corruption, nepotism

Over the past weekend, the Hamas rulers of Gaza took one old and two new steps. They launched more incendiary balloons at Israeli villages; they condemned Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s official visit to Sultan Qaboos in Oman; and they equated the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre to the “terror” of “Israeli occupation.”

The impact of imminent sanctions will be magnified by the economy’s recent struggles, and Tehran’s bad financial policies will only make matters worse.

The triumvirate of leaders to emerge from this year’s elections are strongly associated with nonsectarian, pragmatic government.

The high-profile nature of the meeting reaffirms Israel’s success in developing ties with Gulf states, as well as the independent character of Oman’s leader.

Khamenei’s latest guidelines for Iranian culture and governance focus on resisting any efforts to reform the regime’s decisionmaking tendencies.

On May 24, in the aftermath of the parliamentary elections held earlier that month, Lebanon’s incumbent Prime Minister Saad Hariri was tasked with forming the next cabinet. Nonetheless, while Hariri’s Future Movement remains the biggest Sunni-led party in the Lebanese government, Hezbollah and its allies were able to win the

The prospect of MbS ruling for decades was once thought to portend stability for the kingdom, but that judgment now seems premature.

Iran’s economic problems have reportedly decreased the flow of financial patronage to the group, forcing it to seek another slush fund at home.

As the UN mulls the future of the peacekeeping mission, Washington should proceed cautiously in encouraging negotiations to avoid undermining essential alliances.

Differences remain between Trump and Erdogan, but the two leaders are now talking again about vital issues such as Russian missile purchases, Syrian jihadists, and the Gulen movement.