Middle East & North Africa Archive

Can the United Nations Security Council survive the coming crisis over Iran as a semi-functional diplomatic body? The council is already in rough shape. Debates over the Syrian war have deteriorated into a political farce. Trapped in a cycle of worsening distrust, the permanent members of the council are picking fights over what should be routine issues. Recent negotiations over the small U.N. missions in Haiti and Western Sahara became unexpectedly heated, as China and Russia accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to “railroad” resolutions through the council. There is always a lot of bickering in New York. […]

The nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers has been polarizing since the day it was signed in 2015, both in Iran and the United States. Even so, Tehran has complied with the deal’s terms while continuing to support it, even as President Donald Trump, a loud critic, has pledged to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement. Ahead of a May 12 deadline for Trump to decide whether to stay in the deal, we’ve compiled 10 articles assessing its impact on Iran and the broader implications of Trump’s mission to terminate it. The following 10 articles are free for […]

In recent days, the war in Yemen has worsened, with Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that killed the political leader of the Houthi rebel movement, Saleh al-Sammad, on April 19, and over 50 Houthi militants, including two senior commanders, on April 27. How Yemen’s Houthis respond to the attacks will determine the course of the war in the coming months. But any hopes for movement toward a political solution appear to be dashed, despite quiet efforts by Oman to bring the parties together, and public admonitions by U.S. officials to their Saudi counterparts to focus on bringing this tragic war to an […]