Regions

Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi Arabia and the New Syria: Constructive Pragmatism?
Aug 7, 2025Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
A large Saudi business delegation traveled to Syria on July 23-25, 2025, and participated in an inaugural Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum at the presidential pal…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Palestine and the Middle East After the Iran-Israel war
Jul 15, 2025Rami G. Khouri
The Middle East in recent months has witnessed multiple military and ideological confrontations. Historic changes in regional power balances signal new strateg…
From our Affiliates
IranEnergy and Economics
Coming to Terms with Economic Sanctions on Iran
Jul 13, 2025Meriem Heni
For more than four decades, Iran has been subject to wide-ranging international sanctions, first by the United States in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution and…
From our Affiliates
IranUS Foreign Policy
From Imperial Containment to Catastrophe: Why the US-Israeli Strategy Against Iran Collapsed
Jul 6, 2025Bamo Nouri Inderjeet Parmar
The military escalation of June 2025 – marked by Israel’s unprovoked and illegal attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and the first-ever direct US military aggress…
Podcast
IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
What Just Happened in Iran?
Jul 3, 2025
Experts discuss Israel's war on Iran, the US strikes against the Iranian nuclear facilities, and the implications of the conflict for the Middle East and beyon…
Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel-Iran Confrontation Tests Saudi Arabia’s Quest for Neutrality
Jul 2, 2025The Unit for Political Studies
Overnight on June 21-22, American military aircraft launched strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran, most notably the fortified Fordow plant. To reach…
Policy Analysis
IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The GCC States and the US-Iran Dance Near the Abyss
Jul 2, 2025Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Years of shadowboxing and increasingly direct skirmishing between Israel and Iran erupted into 12 days of conflict that began in the early hours of June 13 and…
Fresh Take
IranUS Foreign Policy
The Impact of the US and Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program
Jul 2, 2025
Experts discuss whether military actions by Israel and the United States have hindered or advanced Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Policy Analysis
IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Pragmatism Shapes Iraq’s Position Toward Post-Assad Syria
Jul 1, 2025Giorgio Cafiero
Sharing a 375-mile border with Syria, Iraq has high stakes in its neighbor’s successful transition following the December 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime…
Video
IranUS Foreign Policy
How Trump Went from Negotiations to War
Jun 25, 2025
Yousef Munayyer discusses the events that led up to Israel's war on Iran and the subsequent US strikes.
Op-Eds
IranUS Foreign Policy
How the U.S. Locked Itself Into a Regime Change War
Jun 25, 2025Yousef Munayyer
Trump’s decision to use U.S. military force to back up his zero-enrichment policy sends everyone involved down an even more dangerous road.
Policy Analysis
IranUS Foreign Policy
Perspectives on the US Attack on Iran and Its Repercussions
Jun 23, 2025Charles W. Dunne Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Assal Rad Annelle Sheline Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
After waiting for a week following Israel’s June 13 attack on Iran, US President Donald Trump decided to involve the United States directly in the Israeli-Iran…