Middle East & Africa

Donald Trump has the support of his base for a muscular foreign policy.

As Houthi attacks target Indian sailors, the Indian Navy has a chance to step up.

International institutions need to start treating water as a national security flashpoint.

Impunity for abetting war crimes weakens U.S. democracy.

Recent Israeli strikes in Syria undermine Trump’s push for normalization.

Syrians are drawn to Damascus to rebuild their country—and their lives.

Donald Trump wants to give Syria “a chance at greatness,” but his assault on U.S. foreign aid threatens to undo any progress achieved.

Public resentment spikes as the death toll rises amid anti-government protests.

A concerted diplomatic push is needed to allay a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.

A former military dictator and late convert to democracy, Nigeria’s two-time ruler lacked the discipline to enact transformational change.

No one wants a long war, and doing nothing was no longer an option.

The state of the China- and Russia-backed bloc in the Trump era.

Both admirers and critics see Iran’s Pahlavi dynasty as the embodiment of pro-Western modernization. But was it?

The 1955 conference’s value-based approach to international affairs offers a model for middle powers today.

Draconian steps used against activists risk weakening real anti-terrorism measures.

The Trump administration’s analysis of the war with Iran is an exercise in pure narrative.

Tom Friedman on the region’s big shifts—and how the rest of the world sees it.

Pushing too hard for a peace deal could come at the expense of more pragmatic action against shared threats.

The world’s richest man takes his political evolution another step further. 

Washington would struggle to secure dangerous materials, technologies, and expertise.

Even when transitions end in elections, the goal is not to exit power but rather to entrench it.

The nations attending the meeting may have small GDPs, but they are rich in critical minerals.

By making Gaza unlivable, Netanyahu has laid the groundwork for ethnic cleansing.

Don’t let the attention economy distract you from recognizing the catastrophe in Gaza.

A bomb with uranium would be easy enough for Tehran to make—but may not make sense to use.

The United States and Israel are speeding up the collapse of nonproliferation.

A recent U.S.-brokered agreement can only ensure stability if it does not reward Rwanda’s aggression.

The 1981 strike on an Iraqi reactor jolted Baghdad’s nuclear program into high gear.

The regime has been pushed to the edge of strategic pivot.

From a Salvadoran multiverse to queer life in contemporary Nigeria.

A demonstrably unpopular regime maintains total control down to the neighborhood level.

Washington, New Delhi, Tokyo, and Canberra make common cause on common ground.

In D.C. visit, Netanyahu is expected to toast Trump for U.S. attack on Iran.

The war with Iran shows why hopes for energy independence are inadequate.

Success in the Middle East could be a template for a new approach to Russia’s war.

He’s hoping the Iran war will erase the stain of Oct. 7.

Millions of Sudanese refugees risk falling deeper into hunger as funding dries up.

Turning away partners with a clear preference for American AI infrastructure creates a vacuum that China will fill.

Despite what it claims, Israel failed to achieve its goals in its latest war.

Across the region, transnational movements are giving way to a political model based on strong states.

Trump’s approach to Iran shows that America’s crisis of manhood has hit the global stage.

Trump’s misplaced faith in the efficacy of the Iran attacks will bring more war.

Satellite imagery confirms that Iranian capabilities are bruised, not annihilated.

Nuclear uncertainty is bad for regional stability.

The White House is scrambling to control the narrative on how effective the U.S. strikes against Iran were.

Experts say the 2015 nuclear deal constrained Tehran’s nuclear ambitions better than the recent U.S. strikes.

Ignoring Tehran’s oil shipments has been informal policy for years. What if Washington made it official?

Without support from a weakened Tehran, the region’s extremist movements would wither.

Dizzying developments in Iran after the Pakistani army chief met with Trump could have political costs back home.

As Putin’s dependence on Iran decreases, he seeks to maintain ties with Tehran’s regional rivals.

It is becoming harder than ever to imagine that Iran will abandon nuclear ambitions.

Pretoria’s balancing act may only become more challenging if a cease-fire fails to hold.

China is happy to step back from the Middle East so that it can challenge the United States where it counts.

As the NATO summit kicks off, both sides are downplaying concerns about Trump’s commitment to the alliance.

Trump’s insistence on zero enrichment was a poison pill in talks with Iran.

Israel accused Iran of violating the truce hours after agreeing to it.

The president swore off building nations, not destroying them.

History shows that Israel’s successful wars don’t always produce stability.

A poll of experts finds that they generally believe military action will harm U.S. national security.

The Trump administration did not give Congress advance warning of the attack, prompting outcry from Democrats and some Republicans.

Tehran fired at least six missiles toward Qatar, which is home to the United States’ Al Udeid Air Base.

Why the official justifications for the war don’t have legal merit.

For months, he seemed to prefer a nuclear deal over military action—until he didn’t.

The regime is too weak to escalate or dash to a bomb.

Global reactions remain mixed, with many Western and regional powers calling for a return to diplomacy while stopping short of condemning U.S. military involvement.

U.S. strikes were limited, but the campaign against Iran could still get messy.

Read the full text of U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the attack was “very successful.”

Why the mercurial president has failed to deliver on his anti-war rhetoric.

The global economic impact of the Israel-Iran war has been contained—so far.

Witkoff’s diplomacy has spectacularly failed, but he is likely to continue to play a major role.

To succeed, the United States must be able to translate battlefield wins into political leverage.

Simmering tensions and an ambitious president could mean wider unrest.

A new Iran may emerge from the current conflict, but don’t expect a democracy.

New Delhi is used to balancing ties with rival states during a crisis, but the latest test is a tough one.

Trump initially showed caution but now seems to want the credit.

First it humiliated the Arabs, then the Iranians—but Israel still needs Trump.

Strategic concerns and domestic politics also played a role.

Can victory over Iran secure the Israeli leader’s legacy?

Experts say Iran’s nuclear program is battered but far from broken.

Beijing’s response is stronger and more direct than before.

By backing Israel’s attack on Iran, Trump violated his anti-war pledge. Will his opponents take advantage of it?

Israel and the Gulf have rival visions for Iran’s role in the region. Now Washington has to pick one.

Vali Nasr on how Tehran is gaming out the next steps in its conflict with Israel.

Netanyahu might be bumbling into a war of attrition with Iran.

Iran’s nuclear program is damaged, but its determination is heightened.

We’ll never know if more negotiations and sanctions could have prevented war with Iran.

The Israeli government is making a bid for regional dominance that’s unlikely to succeed.

Scenarios include an Iranian defeat, an Israeli retreat—or an expanded regional conflict.

Israeli strikes killed several of Iran’s top military commanders.

Israel’s strikes keep Iran out of the nuclear club.

The Israeli strikes aren’t about facilities or centrifuges, but regime change.

Ken Saro Wiwa’s activism captured global attention in the 1990s. Now, in the face of ecocide, the movement has stalled.

Traders fear a wider conflict, even if oil facilities haven’t been targeted yet.

Its proxies are weakened, and its arsenals have been degraded.

The Israeli attack on Iran is about much more than its nuclear program.

The attack comes after a frenzy of speculation that Israel was planning to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Voices opposing the war in Gaza are getting louder—but Israelis have no trouble ignoring them.

Why Trump's about-face on integrating foreign fighters into the Syrian military makes sense.

Although the economy is recovering, analysts warn that Sisi’s vanity projects could harm the country in the long term.