Iran

His administration wants to trigger the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism, but he probably can’t do that from the outside.

If the United States lets France take the lead, the Lebanese people will get more political paralysis, cosmetic reforms, and Hezbollah control of state institutions.

Tehran’s new strategic partnership with Beijing will give the Chinese a strategic foothold and strengthen Iran’s economy and regional clout.

Hard-liners in Tehran have called for closer ties to China for years. The U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement gave them what they wanted.

The sudden departure of Brian Hook leaves the Trump administration scrambling to snatch some victory after two years of “maximum pressure” on Iran.

Trump’s Iran gambit is sweeping, punitive, and has little chance of success.

Despite the Islamic State’s retreat, Assyrians fear for their security in the Nineveh Plains. They need stronger support from Washington and Baghdad.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi is better placed than many of his predecessors to cement the Iraqi state’s authority, but independent armed groups are pushing back.

The supreme leader’s youth-washing strategy could keep detente with the United States off the table for years.

Iranian forces are supporting al-Shabab and allegedly offering bounties. The U.S. government must stop Tehran before it further destabilizes the Horn of Africa.

The Lebanese economy is collapsing, and the risk of conflict is rising—but Washington has failed to grasp why Iranian influence is spreading or the measures needed to stop it.

Restart, a fringe Iranian dissident group, shows how conspiracy spreads—and what that means for U.S. politics.

America’s founders missed an opportunity to abolish slavery, attacks on the press are increasing in democratic societies, and Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran isn’t working.

Trump’s so-called maximum pressure campaign has empowered hard-line figures in Tehran, marginalizing those eager to take the diplomatic route.