Economics

By David Makovsky Israel’s next government may have a turbulent start given its relative lack of political moderates, but a rightward trajectory on settlements and other issues is not guaranteed. The preliminary outlines of Binyamin Netanyahu’s fourth coalition are beginning to take shape ahead of the May 7 deadline …

By Shahla Al Kli The Kurdistan region of Iraq is an island of stability in a sea of regional conflict. Since the 1990s, the Kurds have worked to establish a free and a functioning society. It is a model for successful political engagement by the United States in the …

By Dennis Ross Although Ayatollah Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard oppose nuclear inspections, President Obama should stand tough because transparency is the only way to make the deal work. Should the framework understanding with Iran be finalized in a deal, its terms would give us high confidence that the …

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she sees her main task in facilitating international negotiations on Iran’s controversial nuclear program. The foreign policy chief spoke to journalists ahead of a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. On Wednesday, she is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State John …

Together the United States and Iran could easily defeat Islamic State, but this victory would play into hands of Iran and its Middle Eastern allies and ruin Washington’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Israel, a US expert noted.  After United States military forces defeat Islamic State, Washington must …

Although US President Obama vowed that “a decade of war is now ending” in 2013, the US troops have got bogged down in three conflict zones, while Washington takes regular lethal actions in at least five countries, Michael Crowley noted.  President Obama’s “dream” of extricating the United States out of …

The first US-Ukraine Business Forum will be held in Washington, DC in July to show US commitment to support Ukraine’s private sector, the US Department of Commerce announced in a statement.  Cabinet members from both the US and Ukrainian governments will participate alongside business leaders from the private sector, according to the …

Russia is ready to sell China its state-of-the-art S-400 missile system. Japan is worried by the prospect, fearing it could undermine its security amid an ongoing territorial dispute surrounding the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China. Russia’s business daily Vedomosti reported last November that Moscow …

The US is losing its status of world power, as the country has lately not been able to enforce its geopolitical interests in several regions and has had to retreat, according to German Media.  The descent of the United States as a world power started in Syria, Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten reported. …