Can the EU Lead on Sanctions against Saudi Arabia?

by Eldar Mamedov As U.S. lawmakers seek sanctions against those responsible for the disappearance and possible murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi—a mild critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler—their European counterparts are acting… Continue Reading

Trump’s Unprincipled “Principled Realism” Benefits Trump, Not the World

by Daniel Brumberg Standing before representatives of the entire world, US President Donald Trump insisted1 that he was “okay” with the scorning merriment that his September 25 UN speech provoked. The speech itself was no laughing matter, however. Indeed, despite its incoherent… Continue Reading

Can Europe Defend Itself and Iran from U.S. Sanctions?

by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj In an op-ed published last week in the German newspaper Handelsblatt, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas declared that the “the US and Europe have been drifting apart for years.” Nowhere is this clearer than in the disagreement… Continue Reading

The Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s Potential Countermeasure to US Hostility

by Nader Entessar and Kaveh L. Afrasiabi As the Trump administration ratchets up pressures on Iran—by re-imposing the sanctions removed under the terms of the Iran nuclear accord—Iran has responded diplomatically, politically, and militarily, combining the elements of both soft… Continue Reading