The two explosions that tore through Beirut on Aug. 4 marked the latest catastrophe for Lebanon, a country beleaguered by a massive financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. The explosions killed at least 160 people, injured thousands and left many…
The decades-old refrain throughout the Washington DC policy establishment naively goes to the tune of, “Peace would grace the entire Middle East if only the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could be solved.” This thesis imagines a Middle East thoroughly consumed by the…
A growing arms race in the Eastern Mediterranean pits several U.S. allies against each other, raising the risks of confrontation between two NATO allies. The Turkish Ministry of Defense has tweeted pictures of the Turkish Navy escorting the research ship Oruç Reis to…
The Trump administration announced that the United States would begin the process of triggering the Iran sanctions snapback mechanism that will restore the robust sanctions regime that was terminated in 2015 as part of the Iran nuclear deal. Supporters of the deal…
The historic normalization of relations between United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel marks a watershed in the Middle East. Just as significant, however, has been the region’s reaction. “It is good, though painful,” as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah stated, “that…
Last week, Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a deal: The Arab state would formally recognize Israel in exchange for Israel halting annexation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank. This followed a public invitation by the UAE ambassador…
The world looked on in horror as two massive explosions ripped through Beirut on Aug. 4, killing more than 150 people and injuring thousands. Lebanon’s president attributed the disaster to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that were improperly stored at…
In a region that rarely prompts positive headlines, and during a summer overcome by a global pandemic, the announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are preparing to normalize their relations is an undeniably historic diplomatic breakthrough. By…
The recent oil tanker attacks last year in the Gulf of Oman reinforce the need to reestablish a highly visible U.S. naval deterrent in the Middle East. For eight months last year, no aircraft carrier strike group plied the region, the longest such interruption this…
Last month, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, urging him to invoke the United Nations “snapback sanctions” and finally end the Iran deal, in response to the Iranian regime’s nuclear violations and…