Policy Analysis

Despite the prime minister's distaste for the deal, he will likely ask Washington to enforce it to the hilt instead of shredding it -- something the Trump White House seems ready to do given its actions toward Iran thus far.

February 14, 2017 The newly established state of Israel captured West Jerusalem in the aftermath of the 1948 War and East Jerusalem in the 1967 War; however, neither military acquisition was recognized internationally. In 1995, though, the US Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act claiming Jerusalem as the eternal capital

By forcing the settlements issue prematurely, Israel's right-wing parties may have misjudged the new administration's interest in preserving its peacemaking options.

February 14th, 2017 The Islamic State’s (ISIS) credentials substantially improved after their conquest of Mosul in 2014. In only two years, this al-Qaeda splinter group has spread into most Middle Eastern countries, the Islamic Maghreb, South and Southeast Asia, and has established cells and inspired individual attacks in Europe and

Actions like the travel ban on Iraqis could have the unintended effect of derailing the U.S. alliance with Baghdad -- an outcome that would benefit Iran, the Islamic State, and no one else.

Even while the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is in place, the Trump administration could bring significant pressure to bear on Iran. In this Policy Note, Institute fellows Katherine Bauer, Patrick Clawson, and Matthew Levitt look at the role of sanctions in restraining Iran's regional aggression and disrupting its global-terrorism

Moscow has neither the resources nor the desire to bring long-term stability to Libya, and Haftar is the wrong man for the job, but that won't stop Putin from trying to exploit the situation.

The war in Syria and other conflicts have spurred terrorist supporters to renew tactics such as funneling money through NGOs, submitting fraudulent claims for government assistance, and otherwise exploiting the charitable sector.

Given the region’s notorious difficulty, it would be tempting for President Trump to pivot elsewhere, but America's pressing foreign policy interests will likely draw his administration to the Middle East once again.

Two leading experts on clerical succession in Iran and Iraq discuss how the passing of Ayatollah Sistani and Supreme Leader Khamenei would affect American interests across the Middle East.

The following is based on remarks delivered by Ziegler Distinguished Fellow David Makovsky at a Washington Institute Policy Forum on February 8. His views on these issues are spelled out in greater length in the Transition 2017 paper " Toward a New Paradigm for Addressing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," coauthored with

The idea of formally designating the group as a terrorist organization raises technical and legal issues that could bolster already-marginalized Brotherhood members in unintended ways if handled improperly.

The two leaders will need to figure out where Israel's pressing concerns about Iran fit in with the Trump administration's emerging regional policy, particularly its emphasis on quickly destroying the Islamic State.

Kurdish-led forces are in good position for a final assault on the Islamic State's Syrian stronghold, and other actors seem ready to either support them or stand aside and benefit from their faster progress on the battlefield.

Although Israeli forces demonstrated that they can effectively evacuate an illegal outpost, the settler movement seems to have won the day by securing permission for new construction elsewhere in the West Bank.

Following accusations that Syria had assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon in 2005 under UN Security Council resolution 1559. In a speech to parliament announcing the withdrawal, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that “Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon does not mean an end to Syria’s

February 7, 2017 Counter to what many believe, Islamists in Kurdistan are characterized by their openness to change and their intellectual and practical development. But challenges within and outside their parties, defined by political, economic, and administrative realities in the region, prevent them from playing an effective role in resolving

February 7, 2016 When the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stormed northern Iraq and took over Mosul in the summer of 2014, it ran a parallel campaign of genocide against the minorities of the Nineveh Plains. For many of these groups, including Christians and Yezidis, this was the

Washington should pursue a 'day after' scenario that keeps the United States in the region, maintains its new (YPG) and old (Turkish and Iraqi) relationships, pushes back Iranian ambitions, and 'manages' an inevitable Russian presence.

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a former Iranian judiciary chief who holds a prominent position in the Assembly of Experts, now has two paths to leadership of the Shiite community. The first is as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, now seventy-seven; the second is to eventually take the place