Saudi Arabia’s strange war: Appease Iran, rebuff Israel
Riyadh’s muted response to Iranian aggression reveals a leadership driven more by fear and domestic troubles than coherent regional strategy
Abbas Araghchi
China Looks To Ease Iran Into Resolution of War With U.S.
China is looking to engineer an off-ramp to end the current U.S.-Iran conflict without forcing Tehran to fold. On May 6, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Beijing with China’s Foreign...
Policy Briefs
What would Thomas Jefferson do?
America’s third president understood that jihadis don’t make good deals
Op-eds
Why Trump’s Iran cease-fire is an increasingly risky bet
President Donald Trump has indefinitely extended the cease-fire with Iran, even though the core issues that triggered the war remain unresolved. That doesn’t change one basic fact: The Islamic Republic has...
Op-eds
Iran attacks vessels in Hormuz, avoids concrete stance on ceasefire extension
After Donald Trump announced an extension of the US ceasefire with Iran on April 21, Tehran refused to take an official position on the state of the ceasefire, denied it had agreed to any extension, and...
Op-eds
How Trump Miscalculated in Iran
He followed his Venezuela model, not accounting for the ideological character of the regime in Tehran.
Op-eds
The case for wars of choice
The alternative is wars with our backs against the wall
Op-eds
Oman Is Under Fire From an Iranian Regime It Sought To Befriend
Even as his country was under threat from Iran, Oman’s ruler congratulated the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on his appointment, expressing his “best wishes for success...
Policy Briefs
Iran’s ‘Hezbollah Blueprint’ To Survive the U.S. Military’s Massive Air War
The 12-Country Offensive: Why Iran is Attacking Oman and Azerbaijan to Sabotage Operation Epic Fury ...
Op-eds
Oman’s Flipflopping on Iran Will Leave It Isolated in the Gulf
Even being targeted by Iranian drone strikes is not enough to stop Oman from hedgingand even trying to accommodate Tehran. While other Gulf states issued severe condemnations of attacks on their...
Policy Briefs
Beijing Offers Tehran Lukewarm Rhetorical Support as Iranian Actions Threaten China’s Oil, Trade Flows
Actions speak louder than words. But right now, words are all that China can afford to offer the regime in Iran. On March 1, the Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader...
Policy Briefs
Iran expands retaliation for US-Israel campaign across Arab states (February 28–March 2)
Iran has responded to the joint United States and Israeli military campaign against it with widespread retaliatory strikes across the Middle East. The Iranian attacks consisted of coordinated drone and...
Op-eds
Iran’s Khamenei Invites Conflict, Not Compromise
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei doubled down on threats against the U.S. while denigrating President Donald Trump in a February 17 speech. Speaking on the same day that top Iranian officials concluded talks with U.S. negotiators in Geneva, Khamenei flatly ruled out abandoning uranium enrichment. He also dismissed U.S. demands that Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support for terrorist proxies be included in the negotiations.
Policy Briefs
‘This Does Not Mean We Will Reach an Agreement Soon:’ U.S. Negotiations With Iran in Geneva End Inconclusively
Geneva Talks End: A further round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran ended in Geneva on February 17 with the Iranian side claiming that agreement had been reached...
Flash Briefs
Turkish foreign minister warns of nuclear arms race if Iran gets the bomb
On February 9, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that Turkey would begin developing nuclear weapons should Iran obtain them. During a televised interview with CNN Turk, Fidan warned that...
Op-eds
Al Jazeera Centre for Studies: Academic Veneer Normalizing Terrorism
Is Al Jazeera using its “academic” arm, the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (AJCS), to normalize Hamas’s atrocities, while hiding behind the veneer of a purportedly rigorous research institution?...
Insights
U.S. and Iran Hold Indirect Talks in Oman
Deliberations in Muscat: Delegations from the United States and Iran convened in the Omani capital of Muscat on February 6 for indirect talks addressing the tensions sparked by...
Flash Briefs
Jordan’s Hedging on Iran Is Standard Practice
As the United States deliberates between negotiations with, or military action against, Iran. Jordan has become the latest Arab state to express disquiet over the latter option. Jordan is being characteristically...
Policy Briefs
‘Next Attack Will Be Far Worse’: Trump Threatens Iran as Regime Denies Negotiations With Washington
Latest Developments Trump Issues New Threats: President Donald Trump issued a renewed threat to Iran’s rulers on January 28, warning the Islamic Republic to “come to the [negotiating] table”...
Flash Briefs
‘Completely False’: Tehran’s Top Prosecutor Denies 800 Executions Were Halted After Trump Intervention
Iranian Prosecutor Denies U.S. Claim to Have Prevented 800 Hangings: Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohammad Movahedi, vehemently denied President Donald Trump’s claim that his threats...