TOPICS

Zunaira Sarfraz On 23 March 2026, US President Donald Trump posted on a social media platform, Truth Social, that Washington and Tehran were engaged in productive negotiations. Within an hour, oil prices fell by nearly 11 percent. Iran’s Foreign Ministry immediately denied the claim, but the denial proved …

Brahma Chellaney’s recent essay in The Hill raises a legitimate and important concern. The United States applies nuclear non-proliferation norms with troubling inconsistency. On this narrow point, many scholars of arms control would agree. Yet the argument he constructs to make that case rests on a series of …

Peter Rodgers In U.S.–Iran relations, there has been no shortage of “critical moments.” Yet what is unfolding today is of a different nature. Not simply because a 40-day war has taken place between the two sides but because, for the first time, military instruments and a diplomatic opening …

Hadi Elis For decades, debate has persisted over whether the United States is prepared—or even willing—to pursue regime change in Iran. Yet beneath the surface of military rhetoric and diplomatic posturing lies a more subtle reality: Washington has increasingly favored a long-term strategy of systemic weakening rather than …

Dr. John Calabrese Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has just concluded a two-day visit (April 9–10) to North Korea, in his first trip to Pyongyang in more than six years. The visit emphasized strengthening high-level exchanges and expanding practical cooperation. With U.S. President Donald Trump set to arrive …

Lama Al-Rakad In a world that is supposed to be governed by clear international rules, the nuclear file in the Middle East stands as one of the clearest examples of distorted standards. While one actor is effectively allowed to possess the highest level of deterrent capability without meaningful …

A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and “Israel” took effect on Friday at 12 am, Beirut time, following sustained Iranian pressure linking any ceasefire agreement with the United States to a halt in Israeli attacks on Lebanon. During the first few minutes of the agreement taking effect, Al Mayadeen’s …

By Dennis Ross In international politics, we often confuse capability with inevitability. The assumption that military superiority guarantees strategic success has shaped countless decisions—and just as often, it has led to miscalculation. As Will and Ariel Durant once observed in The Lessons of History, nature and history do …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh Diplomacy, in the Middle East, rarely arrives as a gesture of peace. More often, it emerges as an extension of war by other means—language replacing artillery, but not intent. The recent U.S.-brokered meeting in Washington on April 14, 2026—bringing together representatives of Lebanon and Israel …