June, 2021

• 23 June

  Raisi says Iran will prioritize improving regional relations

  

  The president-elect said Iran wants “interaction with the world” and called on US President Joe Biden to lift all sanctions. Days after his landslide victory, Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that his new government will focus on engagement with regional neighbors. “Iran wants interaction with the world,” Raisi …

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• 23 June

  America’s ‘Return’ Might Not Be Enough to Revive the West

  

  The United States is “back,” proclaims U.S. President Joe Biden, seemingly as often as he can. The coming week will show if the same is true of the West. At successive summits of the G-7, NATO and the European Union, Biden and fellow leaders will confront a dual task: reviving …

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• 23 June

  What the ‘Restrainers’ Get Wrong About U.S. Alliances

  

  Proponents of a U.S. grand strategy of “restraint” are perhaps most well-known for advocating the end of America’s “forever wars” and reducing the country’s military footprint in the Middle East and Afghanistan. But the so-called restrainers have also questioned the rationale for maintaining the United States’ extensive networks of alliances …

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• 23 June

  For the U.S. and Russia, ‘Stable and Predictable’ Would Be a Good Start

  

  When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met last month with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Reykjavik, it prompted inevitable comparisons with another high-level encounter in Iceland’s capital: the famous October 1986 summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev that set the stage for the thawing of the Cold …

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• 23 June

  In Central Europe, Biden Can Build on Trump’s Record

  

  Today, the United States’ relations with Central Europe are at an inflection point. Much of the recent media coverage in the region has focused on how Washington’s influence might wane if President Joe Biden picks a fight with the governments of Hungary and Poland, whose leaders had cultivated close ties …

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• 23 June

  Israel Tries Its Hand at ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran

  

  While tensions between Israel and Iran have been omnipresent in the Middle East for decades, the prospect of open military conflict between the two countries has never seemed closer than it does now. Over the past few months, the two rivals have escalated an undeclared naval war featuring unclaimed attacks …

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• 23 June

  Trump’s ‘Favorite Dictator’ Is Getting a Chilly Reception From Biden

  

  In recent weeks, Egypt has released a handful of high-profile political prisoners, including three journalists, Khaled Dawoud, Solafa Magdy and Hossam el-Sayyad. Dawoud, who had become a leader in the opposition al-Dustour, or Constitution party, was arrested in 2019 following the outbreak of brief anti-government protests. Magdy and Sayyad, who …

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• 23 June

  French foreign minister: Turkey and France have a ‘verbal cease-fire’

  

  Jean-Yves Le Drian told a French TV station there is still a long way to go to improve Turkey-France relations, mentioning Syria, Libya and the eastern Mediterranean. The French and Turkish presidents had a cordial meeting earlier this week. France’s top diplomat said there is a “verbal cease-fire” between France …

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• 23 June

  Engaging Iran Remains Vital after Presidential Election

  Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, represents the hardliners within the Islamic Republic. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Ali Vaez and Naysan Rafati explain why the U.S. should nevertheless persist in working to restore the 2015 nuclear deal to its full promise. What distinguished these elections in Iran? No Iranian …

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• 23 June

  US: Iran Nuclear Decisions Will Rest With Khamenei, Despite Leadership Change

  U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday downplayed the importance of the election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as the new Iranian president, saying that whether the United States ultimately rejoins the international pact to restrain Tehran’s nuclear program will depend on decisions made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. …

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