By Philip Balboni ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Since October 7, 2023, Turkey has occupied an awkward and uncertain role amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and the cycles of escalatory violence that it has precipitated. A NATO member with long-standing military, economic, and diplomatic ties with the West, Turkey has been […]
Targeting UNRWA Could Harm Israel’s Own Interests
srael is strengthening the case of those who question its international legitimacy
Israel’s Wars and Occupation Today are not about Self Defense
By Stephen R. Shalom | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – “Israel has the right to defend itself,” President Joseph Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and countless commentators have declared multiple times over the past year. But does Israel in fact have such a right? Even if there were an Israeli right to self-defense, […]
The Rift over Gaza between Israel and Western Allies Deepens: Macron v. Netanyahu
By Imran Khalid | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – It took nearly a year for French President Emmanuel Macron to confront the uncomfortable truth: the path to peace in Gaza cannot be paved with more weapons to Israel. His recent remarks, sharp and unapologetic, reflected the urgency of shifting away from military […]
How Netanyahu’s Ambitions in Lebanon undermine Biden’s Middle East Strategy
( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The Biden administration’s approach to the Middle East crisis that erupted in the wake of October 7, 2023 is on the brink of collapse. Israel’s aggressive maneuvers, coupled with Iran’s growing involvement, are pushing the region toward a full-scale war, one that the Biden administration ostensibly hoped to […]
Is Climate Change Sucking the Caspian Sea Dry?
By Tarique Niazi ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Azerbaijan is making the most of its hosting of the UN climate summit (COP29) in November this year. Its president, Ilham Aliyev, has been on a whirlwind tour of the world to court major nations for a climate finance pact that will feature Baku’s initiative […]
The World’s Nod to Taliban Misogyny
By Tarique Niazi | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The United Nations recently hosted a third round of talks on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, to weigh the prospects for the country’s return to the international system. The talks were attended by special envoys on Afghanistan from 30 world nations, including the United […]
Water Shortage: Was Iran’s late President Raisi a Martyr to Climate Change?
By Tarique Niazi | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died on May 19 while returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a hydropower project in a remote corner of northwestern Iran. Why would a head of state brave the hazardous conditions of unseasonal blizzards in a mountainous region to […]
Why Iran’s Upcoming Presidential Elections Matter
By Abolghasem Bayyenat | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Iran is set to hold extraordinary presidential elections in about two weeks following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran last month. Out of a list of 80 presidential nominees, the Council of Guardians, which is in […]