After six months of internal discord against the background of competing foreign interests, Iraq has formed its new government, ending the stasis that followed the November 2025 election. Prime Minister...
Currency swap lines are useful foreign-policy tools, but current law limits their availability.
The western section of the Indian Ocean, with its key trade routes and its maritime chokepoints, has faced no shortage of crises between disruptions caused by the Houthis in Yemen and their backers in...
Foreign influence is reaching into our children’s schools in Texas and around the United States. Kids are being exposed to lesson plans and textbooks stained with propaganda and even antisemitism. Who...
Riyadh’s muted response to Iranian aggression reveals a leadership driven more by fear and domestic troubles than coherent regional strategy
Iraqi politicians and security forces have responded to a May 9 report in The Wall Street Journal claiming that “Israel built and defended a secret Iran war base in Iraq.” The news provoked...
Iran-backed militias work through politicians, front companies, and oil smugglers to siphon billions of dollars from the Iraqi people each year in schemes to enrich both themselves and the Islamic Republic...
War has a way of redrawing maps – not just political ones, but commercial ones as well. The outbreak of conflict with Iran has disrupted longstanding trade arteries linking Asia to Europe, from Persian...
Iran Attacks U.S. Vessels: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on May 7 that “U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.” The statement noted that “Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.” CENTCOM added that it had “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.”
The case for suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement on grounds of human rights is a powerful argument – as long as one doesn't look at what else Europe is doing in the region
Two Kurdish Iranian opposition groups claimed they were targeted by Iranian attacks on May 5 and 6. The Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran...
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Iraq’s reliance on oil exports through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz may spell financial disaster for Baghdad, which has limited options to avert a crisis. More than 94 percent of Iraq’s oil exports...
Iran Renews Attacks on the UAE: The United Arab Emirates condemned what it called “renewed terrorist, unprovoked Iranian attacks targeting civilian sites and facilities in the...
On April 27, the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered a $10 million reward for information on Haydar Muzhir Malak al Saidi, the leader of Harakat Ansar Allah al Awfiya,...
Iraq’s latest prime minister designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is an embodiment of the corruption that has held Iraq hostage for over 20 years.
More than five months after its national elections, Iraq may finally have a new leader. On April 27, Iraqi President Nizar Amedi named Ali al-Zaidi,...
OPEC is dying. The announcement by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that it will leave the cartel effective May 1 may be the fatal blow. As OPEC’s third-largest producer, the UAE’s exit follows Qatar’s...
War is unpredictable and with Operation Epic Fury, some of the biggest surprises have occurred off the battlefield. Qatar’s posture is one of them. Years of engagement with Iran gave way to a relationship...