Research & Commentary Results

مع الإطاحة ببشار الأسد ودخول سوريا مرحلة سياسية جديدة، ما هو مستقبل هذا البلد الذي دمرته الحرب والقمع والانقسامات الطائفية؟ غونول تول تتحدث مع ستيفن هايدمان (كلية سميث) ورادوان زياده (المركز العربي في واشنطن العاصمة) حول تحديات العدالة الانتقالية، وآفاق الإصلاح الديمقراطي، ودور الزعيم الفعلي الجديد لسوريا، أحمد الشرح. هل يمكن لنموذج الحكومة المركزية أن يوفر حوكمة شاملة؟ ما نوع الدعم - أو التدخل - الذي يجب أن يتوقعه السوريون من القوى الأجنبية؟

أدى وقف إطلاق النار الذي تم التوصل إليه في 6 مايو بين الولايات المتحدة وميليشيا الحوثي في اليمن إلى تعزيز توازن القوى داخل الدولة التي مزقتها الحرب وترسيخ الوضع الراهن للحرب الأهلية في البلاد. في المقابل، من المحتمل أن تؤدي نتيجة الحرب التي اندلعت بعد ذلك بين إسرائيل وإيران واستمرت 12 يوماً إلى زعزعة هذا الوضع الراهن مؤقتاً مرة أخرى؛ لكن من غير المرجح أن يتمكن التحالف المناهض للحوثيين في اليمن، الذي يعاني من الانقسامات، من استغلال هذه الفرصة.

The dust has barely settled following the dramatic 12-day war between Israel and Iran, but its political and strategic reverberations are already shaping the future of the Middle East. In this episode of Middle East Focus, Ross Harrison, senior fellow and book series editor at the Middle East Institute, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess what comes next — from Tehran’s internal power recalibrations to the future of Iran’s forward defense strategy, and shifting regional alliances.

The Iraqi government has long navigated a path between maintaining political ties with its Iranian neighbor and Tehran’s allies inside Iraq on the one hand, and preserving its security relationship with the United States on the other. Unsurprisingly, it quickly welcomed US President Donald Trump’s June 23 Israel-Iran cease-fire agreement.

After Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, can we learn to deal differently with Iran?

تهدد الحرب الشاملة التي تشنها إسرائيل على إيران بقلب الديناميات الإقليمية وتوازن تركيا الدقيق. ويشكل هذا الصراع تهديدات فورية ومخاطر استراتيجية طويلة الأمد لتركيا.

مع اشتداد الصراع بين إسرائيل وإيران، تتزايد التحذيرات من أن الحرب قد تؤدي إلى انتشار إشعاعي خطير ومدمر في معظم أنحاء المنطقة. لكن مواقف مختلف الأطراف الفاعلة الرئيسية في الخليج وخارجه فتحت الباب أمام تسوية سياسية أوسع بين الولايات المتحدة وإيران يمكن أن تنهي الأعمال العدائية قبل أن يتحقق مثل هذا السيناريو الخطير.

As the world watches and waits to see whether the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates into a wider war and whether the United States gets more directly involved, Americans remain sharply divided and mostly distracted by events closer to home, for now.

The evolving confrontation with Israel and the United States places the Islamic Republic of Iran at a critical inflection point. Tehran faces choices that range from limited negotiation and strategic restraint to escalation and eventual collapse. The following analysis explores the key scenarios that could unfold in the coming days, weeks, and years.

Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to examine the dramatic escalation between Israel and Iran following Israel’s targeted strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, infrastructure, and senior IRGC officials. Vatanka discusses how the Iranian regime is responding, the risk of wider regional conflict, and whether the current campaign could mark the beginning of the end for the Islamic Republic.

The past four days have clarified much about what Israel wants from this conflict, what Iran can and cannot do to fight back, and what decisions confront the American president over the next few days.

On May 23, President Donald Trump’s administration suspended the majority of sanctions on Syria, marking the most sweeping shift in the policy of the United States toward Damascus in over a decade. But lifting sanctions will not magically make Syria safe for return. For millions of displaced Syrians, their country remains a minefield — literally and bureaucratically.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Dec. 8, 2024, after the rebel military operation “Deterrence of Aggression” and the establishment of a transitional government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, quickly began working to form a unified national army, dismantle the existing factions, and centralize all weapons under the authority of the state in an effort to address one of the most pressing challenges facing his administration. While several initial moves have been completed, important steps in this complicated process are still pending. This article highlights the current developments surrounding the formation of the new army, including progress achieved to date and key challenges going forward.

The spotlight in America this week is trained on the home front, with growing tensions inside the country over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and a showdown unfolding on the streets of Los Angeles. At times like these, the rest of the world has a way of intruding, sometimes unexpectedly, and Trump 2.0’s foreign policy is still struggling to produce a major positive outcome from its frenetic activity trying to end kinetic wars while prosecuting an unprecedented economic war with much of the rest of the world.

What’s next for Gaza—and for Israel? In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj sit down with Ghaith al-Omari, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former advisor to the Palestinian Authority, to unpack the urgent humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza, the impact of Israeli settlement expansion, and what these developments mean for the future of the region.