Central Asia

Meir Javedanfar looks at how Western sanctions on Iran are enabling violence in Syria to continue.

Tom Engelhardt on the lessons Washington can’t draw from the failure of the military option

While no doubt painful for Tehran, U.S. sanctions are riddled with exemptions and may be in place mostly to sideline hawks, writes Robert Dreyfus.

China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, & Uzbekistan have yet to take new members. Richard Weitz explains why.

Ashley J. Tellis explains why Pakistan must rethink its Afghanistan policies, or risk defeat

A series of revelations suggest that the U.S. and Israel are engaged in a cyber war with Iran. If true, any hope of progress in talks over Iran’s nuclear program could be jeopardized.

The U.S. may not agree or even understand Russia’s view on the Iran nuclear issue. But there are many reasons why Russia won’t put too much pressure on Tehran.

Finding a nuclear deal with Iran doesn’t mean marginalizing human rights. Indeed, reducing fear of aggression will allow more space for debate on domestic political change.

The IAEA has a critical role to play in resolving the Iran nuclear crisis – one that could serve as a model for dealing with North Korea and Syria.

Iran’s leadership may be hoping that Beijing and Moscow will step in and help it with the West. But it’s not in their interests to do so.

India has the kind of soft power among Afghans that the U.S. can only dream of. Working together, New Delhi and Washington could still save Afghanistan.

Iran’s leaders see little domestic political benefit to giving into the demands of the U.S. and its partners over Tehran’s nuclear program. The calculation shows no signs of changing.