Are Iran and Turkey on a collision course over West Azerbaijan?
Over the centuries, Iran and Turkey have engaged in an ebbing and flowing, but continual, rivalry for regional influence and supremacy. Yet such potentially escalatory dynamics have not been limited to geopolitical competition by proxy; they have also spilled over into efforts to meddle in each other’s internal affairs.
“Exporting its internal problems”: Understanding Iran’s January missile salvos against its neighbors
In mid-January, with the war in Gaza continuing to rage on, Iran launched a series of surprise missile attacks on its immediate neighbors Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan over two days. Taken together, these attacks illustrate that the Islamic Republic puts regime survival above national interest in its foreign policy calculations, which undermines its efforts to engender solidarity and good relations with other Muslim-majority states in the region.
Expelling MK Cassif: A warning sign for Palestinian representation in the Knesset
If the Knesset expels lawmaker Ofer Cassif, it will represent the national legislature’s first use of the Suspension Law and signal a sharp curtailing of legal space for non-Zionist players in Israeli politics.
What does Israel want to see come out of US mediation efforts on Israel-Lebanon?
The weeks ahead are crucial for Israel and Lebanon and will likely indicate whether a broader confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah can be avoided diplomatically or if it is inevitable. Israeli officials have called on Lebanon and the world to deliver a solution; but in practice, Israeli eyes are set on Washington, DC.
What it means when nine nations bomb in the Middle East in two weeks
Nine nations, including terrorist groups that are de facto governments, have attacked other countries in the region over the course of about two weeks. Numerous commentators have drawn the conclusion that a regional war is already underway or soon will be.
Robust diplomacy is Washington’s only chance to stop a Lebanon-Israel war
In navigating the thickening fog of war, ongoing US-led mediation must actively take two critical steps to pull Lebanon and Israel back from the brink and avoid a direct US-Iran confrontation: secure credible guarantees on compliance and endorse local efforts to elect an independent president.
The current escalation between Israeli and Hezbollah forces necessitates immediate action from the international community to prevent a widening of the Gaza war, and the US is positioned in a leadership role to mollify tensions, beginning with diplomatic actions to stabilize the Lebanese-Israeli border, helping to pacify the broader region as a result.
War delays but likely will not fully derail IMEC plans
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel and the latter’s ongoing military operation in Gaza have stalled progress in the development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and raised questions about its prospects for eventual completion. The IMEC faces multiple viability challenges, but none of them are insurmountable; thus, its participants are unlikely to abandon it.
The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. MEI Editor-in-chief Alistair Taylor and Turkey Program Director Gonul Tol discuss where things stand today: the political landscape in the aftermath of the May 2023 elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s push for constitutional change, and how Turkey is dealing with key foreign policy issues like the Israel-Hamas war, Sweden’s NATO membership bid, and relations with the U.S.
