U.S. lawmakers have had a bit of time to evaluate last night’s speech by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. The speech was panned by analysts and journalists as “defiant” and “angry.” Reuters quotes Democratic Senator Robert Menendez as one of the many members of Congress who noticed as much: Two senior...

A pro-regime newspaper announced earlier this week that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will lead the country’s delegation to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Muallem will reportedly speak next Monday. Political intrigue will swirl around whether and to what extent Muallem is treated as a legitimate representative...

Qatar has in recent years aligned itself with Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood in what increasingly seems like a regional rivalry between three overarching camps: a Qatari/Turkish/Brotherhood bloc, an Iranian-led bloc that includes Syria and Hezbollah, and a bloc made up of Israel and key U.S. Arab allies. In some...

Reuters reports that Russia has expressed hopes that some resolution revolving around some aspect of Syria’s vast chemical weapons arsenal can be hammered out this week. The details of that resolution have yet to be worked out, but Russia officials have very definite ideas about what won’t be included: “There...

In the aftermath of a speech by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that was panned by journalists and analysts for falling short of expectations built up by the revolutionary-era cleric’s public writings, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez issued a statement reemphasizing a sentiment that has become increasingly heard from lawmakers across the...

Newly inaugurated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke to the United Nations General Assembly this evening. Expectations were high after a series of tweets written by Rouhani cemented conventional wisdom that Tehran was offering a new tone, while an op-ed written by Rouhani and published in the Washington Post promised new...

The Arab Spring has seen governments overthrown, mass movements formed and dissolved, and geopolitical calculations upended for groups and countries spanning Iran-backed terror groups all the way to NATO countries. It’s also seen a kind of dropping of pretenses for Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned TV station that has often been...

Reports of Israeli medical assistance to Syrian war victims long ago began to filter back into Syria. Jerusalem set up a field hospital near the Israeli-Syrian border last March, and victims who require extensive care have been taken to hospitals deeper inside Israel. Over 100 Syrians have been treated, leading...

A Syrian human rights group is reporting that at least seven people were killed in a car bomb that exploded today in Damascus. Syrian state news outlets also confirmed the attack. The BBC noted that the Tadamon district where the explosion occurred has been the scene of some of the...

Analysts have begun to unpack the domestic, regional, and global implications of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Sunday electoral victory, which saw resounding success for her Christian Democratic Union and positioned her to take the helm for a third consecutive term as Chancellor. The Washington Post labeled the victory “historic” and...