Policy Analysis

The ongoing tensions in Nineveh's municipal council highlight how regional powers vie for influence in Iraq's local elections.

Signs that Ankara is interested in a potential reconciliation with the PKK could lead an end to a decades-long conflict and have ripple effects across the region, although numerous obstacles remain.

A group with a Saudi-linked name has claimed six attacks on Israel, but they were probably launched from Iraq using Kataib Hezbollah and/or Houthi drone teams.

Saraya Awliya al-Dam launched a Shahed drone from a small boat in an apparent effort to draw attention by demonstrating a rudimentary new capability.

A terrorism expert assesses how Washington and its partners can best counter—and in some cases engage—jihadist actors in Afghanistan and the Sahel amid growing limitations on U.S. influence in such locales.

An Iraqi militia directorate that has grown into a major state-funded educational foundation, arranging university education for students tied to the PMF and sending some to Iran on scholarships paid by Tehran.

In seeking to bolster partnerships and simultaneously protect U.S. technology, officials will need to navigate export options ranging from permissive to restrictive.

The nascent administration needs to clarify its stances on preventing an Iranian nuclear breakout, investing in Arab-Israel military cooperation, and responding to potential West Bank annexations.

Although recent military setbacks have fueled Iranian talk about a possible nuclear breakout, uncertainty about the risks, costs, and utility of weaponization may give the United States leverage to ensure that Tehran continues to hedge.

The administration should first consider how enhanced sanctions would fit into its broader regional policy before talking about how to get them going again.

A panel of distinguished journalists from across the Middle East discuss regional perspectives on the second Trump administration’s potential approach to critical issues of war and peace.

A look at how his new administration might combine old and new policies to tamp down the past year of war and address other threats.

The energy transition in both countries includes a continued need for fossil fuels while reducing emissions—though Riyadh hopes to export “all forms of energy” down the road, and Abu Dhabi seeks nuclear advances to meet power demand.

Many leaders seem eager for the return of a U.S. administration that has shown a predilection for encouraging big business ties—though the ten weeks before Inauguration Day will be fraught with risks of new or escalated regional crises.

The United States can help renew the African Union mission by managing Egypt-Ethiopia tensions and mediating between various actors in Somalia.

With Iraq's civil society increasingly losing access to international funding, its members face tough choices about the future.

Any future democratic renewal will require an entirely new movement that goes much further toward addressing the country’s deepest economic and social injustices.

Poor internal communications and miscalculation could lead Tehran to continue the cycle by striking again soon, whether directly or through its Iraqi proxies.

Since receiving $57 billion earlier this year, Cairo has enacted several reforms and named a new economic team, but President Sisi must allow for additional improvements.

Egypt, strategically positioned in the heart of the Middle East and North Africa, is grappling with significant economic pressures exacerbated by regional conflicts and geopolitical instability.