Policy Analysis

Sanctions might have brought Rouhani to the table, but they won't keep him there.

President Rouhani's track record shows that he is deeply committed to preserving the regime's longstanding interests, and frequently at odds with the principles of international law.

Bahrain's proposal of a serving military officer and royal family member as its new envoy will likely complicate relations with the United States.

Too many journalists mistakenly view the Brotherhood as a normal political party rather than a highly secretive hierarchy whose most important figures often avoid the media completely.

Stopping Iran's increasingly rapid progress toward becoming a de facto nuclear weapons state requires significant diplomatic progress, and quickly.

Islamist violence has chased off tourists, and now it threatens a key waterway -- and Egypt's entire economy.

Arming friendly rebel factions could help curb the slaughter of civilians, maintain pressure on Assad, eliminate the need for U.S. military action, and keep extremists in check, among other benefits.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad may have thrown a wrench into Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's plans for nuclear negotiations with the West -- if the United States learns the right lessons from the Syria experience.

Forget Rouhani -- Iran's hardline Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei might actually be open to a nuclear deal with America.

With help from Washington and the GCC, Yemen's political transition has been successful thus far, though deeper reform efforts will test the new government's stability.

Hezbollah retaliation could include firing rockets at Israel or executing terrorist attacks on Western and Israeli interests via the group's formidable global networks.

As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators pursue their latest round of talks, hate speech remains one of many daunting obstacles to long-term peace. It is one thing for a government to tolerate private hate speech, but quite a different and more serious matter for it to actually produce, disseminate, or subsidize

Despite its shortcomings, the Oslo process has benefited Israelis and Palestinians, and its focus on nationalist frameworks remains more relevant than unfeasible binational proposals.

The Obama administration should take steps to ameliorate the negative effects of the chemical disarmament agreement, restore Washington's credibility, and preserve its ability to use force if necessary.

The system that will likely be put in place for Egypt's next parliamentary elections may sideline new parties, but this could help consolidate the country's scattered political spectrum.

The AKP sees a bit of its past in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's military ouster, and also a bit of its imagined future.

By limiting potential strike options, Washington risks undercutting diplomacy and being drawn into the kind of intensive, open-ended engagement in Syria that it wants to avoid.

The Arab Spring has recalibrated the regional system by ushering in a tri-axial Middle East.

Although a military response to Syria's August 21 chemical weapons attack is on hold, Washington can restore credibility and pressure by threatening to strike immediately if the Assad regime uses such weapons again.

Political and fiscal pressure is pulling Libya apart at the seams and creating conditions that threaten neighboring countries.