Middle Orient

The regime is more vulnerable than ever, even as domestic reforms, nuclear diplomacy and better relations with the West appear remote. Iran marks the anniversary of the Islamic revolution in February amid increasingly existential challenges at home and in relations with the outside world. Four months of nationwide protests — …

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran imposed fresh sanctions on dozens of European Union (EU) and British officials and entities for supporting terrorism. The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday released an updated list of sanctions against a number of EU and British individuals and entities. Those individuals and entities …

While Finland seems one step closer to NATO membership after Helsinki’s decision to resume defense sales to Turkey, Ankara’s anger at Sweden shows no signs of abating. Finland lifted on Wednesday a nearly three-year-long arms embargo on Turkey in a fresh move aimed to facilitate Helsinki’s entry to NATO, while …

In a tense exchange, Iran’s top diplomat has accused Paris of being intentionally confrontational while his French counterpart piled pressure on Iran over the detention of French nationals. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that France was meddling in his country’s affairs and taking a confrontational approach toward the …

While Finland seems one step closer to NATO membership after Helsinki’s decision to resume defense sales to Turkey, Ankara’s anger at Sweden shows no signs of abating. Finland lifted on Wednesday a nearly three-year-long arms embargo on Turkey in a fresh move aimed to facilitate Helsinki’s entry to NATO, while …

Questions raised this week about the December shooting of Sinan Ates have placed Erdogan’s allied MHP party under the spotlight as elections loom. The murder of a prominent Turkish nationalist nearly a month ago has cast a shadow over politics, with the scandal threatening to engulf the ruling party’s ally …

To maximize the opportunity for the Turkish public to come to the polls… President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brought forward the election date from an originally scheduled June 18 to May 14. Erdoğan’s treatment — through a judiciary totally under his control — of one of his potential rivals, Istanbul’s Mayor …

Many believe Ankara can be mollified — at a cost — but rejection of the Nordic countries’ ascension remains a real possibility. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is set to meet his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington this week. There are scant expectations among observers that the visit will …

While not analogous to Ukraine, recent American combat experiences can be informative as we consider sending advanced systems to Kyiv. There are a host of reasons, backed by historical examples, why sending more and more advanced weapons into Ukraine will not be a panacea. In fact, sending them might boomerang …

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Dutch envoy in Türkiye’s capital Ankara after the leader of an Islamophobic far-right group desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran, the second such instance that took place in Western Europe this week that threatens to deepen the strain with the broader Muslim world. …