Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 11, 2018.

The Summer of Israel’s Contentment

Politicians are exploiting a period of relative calm to gamble with the country’s future.

A satellite view of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait near Yemen on March 28, 2015. (USGS/NASA Landsat/Orbital Horizon/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Iran’s Yemeni Proxies Put Oil Shipments in Crosshairs

A Houthi attack on two Saudi oil tankers near Yemen could be an Iranian bid to hammer a key energy choke point.

An Israeli soldier stands next to a sign on Mount Bental, near the the Syrian border of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on May 10. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Moscow Holds the Key to Peace Between Jerusalem and Damascus

Russia is more important than the United States in averting war between Israel and Syria.

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing on May 13, 2018. (THOMAS PETER/AFP/Getty Images)

Moscow and Beijing Have Tehran’s Back

Trump's Iran policies have left the country with no choice but to turn to Russia and China.

A demonstrator wearing a mask painted with the colors of the flag of East Turkestan and a hand bearing the colors of the Chinese flag attends a protest  in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, on July 5, 2018.(OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Islamic Leaders Have Nothing to Say About China’s Internment Camps for Muslims

Hundreds of thousands of Uighur have been detained without trial in China's western region of Xinjiang.

Masih Alinejad outside her home in New York in May. (Jesse Dittmar for Foreign Policy)

The Woman Who Defied Iran

On the podcast: Masih Alinejad took off her headscarf and started a movement.

Iranian protesters hold a portrait of the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Suleimani, during a demonstration in the capital Tehran on December 11, 2017.

Iran Hawks Should Be Careful What They Wish For

Pushing for regime change in Tehran could put Qassem Suleimani in power.

Masih Alinejad outside her home in New York in May. (Jesse Dittmar for Foreign Policy)

Those Who Dare to Bare Their Hair

Masih Alinejad is helping Iranian women challenge the regime — one hijab at a time.

Pouneh Mirlou illustration for Foreign Policy

Pride and Prejudice in Tehran

To understand Iran’s foreign policy, you need to learn a little Farsi.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

At Helsinki Summit, Putin Likely to Rebuff Any Pressure From Trump on Syria

The United States wants Russia to help oust Iranian troops from Syria.

Defense Secretary James Mattis waits for the arrival of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen outside the Pentagon June 20, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Mattis’s Last Stand Is Iran

As the U.S. defense secretary drifts further from President Donald Trump’s inner circle, his mission gets clearer: preventing war with Tehran.

An oil tanker prepares to dock at Khark Island in the Persian Gulf on March 12, 2017. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump’s Push to Ban Iranian Oil Could Mean Pain at the Pump

Big buyers of Iranian oil such as China are seen as unlikely to cut purchases to zero, but sanctions will still send crude prices higher.

Mahmoud Abbas waits to address the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, September 20, 2017 in New York City.

Mohammed bin Salman Has Thrown the Palestinians Under the Bus

The United States and Arab governments have abandoned the Palestinian cause and believe they can browbeat Mahmoud Abbas into submission.

An Iraqi worker at an oil refinery in Nasiriyah, Oct. 30, 2015. (Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

OPEC Agrees to Boost Oil Output

The oil cartel vowed to add 1 million barrels a day to markets. It won’t add quite that much.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak at an OPEC meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on April 20. (Amer Hilabi/AFP/Getty Images)

OPEC Close to Agreement to Open the Oil Taps

With or without Iranian cooperation, extra barrels of crude could help meet rising demand. But there’s still reason to fear a price spike later this year.

People in Tehran check their mobile phones as they wait in the streets after an earthquake near Iranian capital on Dec. 21, 2017. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran’s Ban of Messaging App Hurts Economy at Pivotal Moment

Rights group says app was widely used by businesses and even government offices.

Iraqis celebrate with a picture of the Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, after the general election in Baghdad on May 14, 2018.

I Fought Against Muqtada al-Sadr. Now He’s Iraq’s Best Hope.

The former militia leader who once terrorized U.S. forces has reinvented himself as an Iraqi nationalist and a pragmatist.

French Economy  Minister Bruno Le Maire addresses a conference  on February 15, 2018 at the Economy Ministry in Paris.

OFAC Off

The European Union needs to defend its economic sovereignty from U.S. overreach. Creating its own agency for sanctions enforcement would be a start.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (L) at the Great Hall of the People on March 17, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang - Pool/Getty Images)

China Smells Opportunity in the Middle East’s Crisis

Beijing is using the region's ongoing woes to solidify its own geopolitical agenda.

The United Nations Security Council meets on August 19, 2015 in New York City. (Photo credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

At U.N., Russia and U.S. Wage Quiet War Over Appointments to Advance Broader Agendas

Tit for tat battle weakens the United Nations’ ability to enforce sanctions around the world.

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