Strait of Hormuz

Understanding Iran’s 3,000-Mile Battlefront

Iran is fighting a regional war, while the United States can focus only on one front at a time.

The U.S. Needs Its Mideast Bases

If America won’t finish the job in Iran, leaving the Gulf Arab states would turn a failure into a rout.

Strait Victory: Bypassing Iran’s Hormuz Chokepoint

Letter to the POTUS

A few hopefully helpful notes on Iran’s “Islamic Revolutionaries”

Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: June

Trend Overview ...

How double-dealing Oman threatens Trump’s Mideast peace

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” President Donald Trump declared Wednesday. An apparently shocking statement about a nation long regarded as...

6 Essential Requirements for a Good Iran Nuclear Deal

A new U.S.-Iran nuclear deal may soon emerge — or at least an initial memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be fleshed out over 60 days. President Donald Trump pledged on May 27 that the United States...

Iran Thinks It Can Still Pull Off One Last Trick

Trump Has Iran on the ropes. Now he must resist the bad deal.

The U.S.-China Superpower Stalemate

For two days in Beijing last week, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping leaned into the familiar theater of great-power diplomacy. Trump said it was an “honor” to be Xi’s friend...

Farewell Fidelismo?  

Trump has a chance to liberate the Cuban people – and others

The Iran Deal: What Trump Got, What Iran Got, and What Comes Next

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Iran’s New ‘Nuclear’ Weapon

What happens if the U.S. declines to fight for the Strait of Hormuz.

Ukraine now has the ‘cards,’ the US must force Putin to make concessions

Ukraine is proving it holds more “cards” than some assumed, thwarting Russia’s battlefield advances while pounding its infrastructure. Vladimir Putin is visibly under stress to end the war. Yet...

Putin-Xi Summit Fails To Land Major Breakthroughs

This spring is summit season in Beijing.  Russian leader Vladmir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for a two-day summit on May 20 to 21 and signed 40 limited agreements covering...

Iranian Oil Exports Nosedive After U.S. Blockade Begins

Despite Iranian intransigence, the U.S. blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports, which began on April 13, is already generating real pain — and real results — for the Islamic Republic. Iran exported...

Distrust and verify  

The Beijing summit was pageantry; Xi’s ambitions are not

Iraq Forms a New Government Without Resolving Cabinet Role of Iran-Backed Militias

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...

U.S.-China Summit Underlines Stalemate Between Washington and Beijing

The United States and China remain stuck in a stalemate, but Beijing isn’t likely to be disappointed. President Trump and Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping convened in Beijing on May 14 to 15 to...

Trump and Xi talk Strait past each other at summit

Trump and Xi met face-to-face, but their minds are worlds apart. Both sides described this week’s summit as constructive and there were no major surprises, but based on initial readouts, the two leaders...

This Economic Weapon Is Worth Congress’s Attention

Currency swap lines are useful foreign-policy tools, but current law limits their availability.