Assessing the Biden administration’s performance in the Middle East at the one-year mark requires some careful metrics. Should the benchmark be a comparison to the turbulent Trump years, or to earlier times when U.S. diplomacy was defining the regional agenda and, on occasion, making a meaningful contribution to achieving peace? …

At its height half a decade ago, the Islamic State was among the most feared armed organizations in the world. The infamously brutal group had at one point captured and established governance of more than a third of Iraq and large swaths of Syria. But that shocking, sudden rise to …

As Russia amasses more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, the Kremlin is holding the country at gunpoint while imposing outrageous demands on the West. On Dec. 17, 2021, Moscow issued two draft “treaties” demanding legal guarantees for the reversal of NATO’s open door policy, which is enshrined in the …

In a sign of strengthening relations, a long procession of foreign ministers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) visited China earlier this month. In addition, two MENA nations signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) involving the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s global infrastructure development effort. The fact that …

The powerful politician had faced piling pressure from hard-liners over suggesting that Iran could at some point directly engage with the United States if a “good deal” was within reach. Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani has said he will “never endorse direct negotiations with the United …

Russia is working to improve relations with Saudi Arabia and wants the kingdom to buy its S-400 missile defense system. An alliance of Saudi businesses called today for improving economic relations with Russia. The chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Ajlan Al-Ajlan, said the alliance wants a “road map” …

Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot revealed that Israel almost killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani a year and a half before he was assassinated by the Americans. He had never spoken so openly. In a series of conversations with Al-Monitor, retired Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, the …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the U.S., saying it was damaging his country’s economy by unduly stoking panic that Russia may be planning an invasion. Russia has massed over 100,000 troops, along with tanks and heavy weaponry, along the border, while denying any plans for an invasion. Zelenskyy said Friday …

President Joe Biden said Friday that he will soon send a small number of U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia continues amassing an historic amount of forces along its border with Ukraine. “I’ll be moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe in the NATO countries in the near term — …

NATO activity in the Black Sea region has become less frequent since Moscow’s takeover of the Crimean Peninsula nearly eight years ago, sparking concerns that the West is falling short in checking further Russian ambitions in the strategically critical waterway. A Stars and Stripes analysis of the data revealed that …