World powers are now offering to ease sanctions on Iran if it agrees to halt its most sensitive nuclear activity. Expert Daryl Kimball urges a full diplomatic press to stop Iran from crossing the nuclear weapons line.

The surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has given rise to speculations that the next pontiff to lead the Catholic Church will hail from the developing world, says expert James P. McCartin.

Iran's reluctance to negotiate over its controversial nuclear program makes a deal with international powers unlikely, says CFR's Carla Robbins.

Pyongyang appears determined to become a nuclear weapon state while still aiming to cultivate economic ties with the outside world, says expert Victor Cha.

Its economy is in terrible condition and state authority is apparently breaking down. It's time to contemplate an intervention by Egypt's military, says CFR's Steven Cook.

Even with signs of the euro crisis abating, Europe's political landscape remains fraught with fracturing alliances and unresolved questions regarding national sovereignty, says CFR's Charles Kupchan.

The government of Nouri al-Maliki faces a number of challenges in the coming year, including strong opposition from Sunnis, Kurds, and fellow Shiites, says CFR's Meghan O'Sullivan.

In this interview, CFR's James Lindsay discusses three major foreign policy challenges confronting the United States in 2013, including tumult in the Middle East, rising tensions in East Asia, and the U.S. fiscal cliff.

CFR's Daniel Markey examines the prospects for new talks with the Afghan Taliban, especially given improving relations between the United States and Pakistan.

Middle East expert Robert Malley discusses how the United States is crafting policy for a Middle East it may no longer be accustomed to.

The Gaza conflict has been brewing for a while, and although Egypt and others are working to deescalate it, there are no guarantees, says CFR's Steven Cook.

CFR's Ed Husain discusses the significance of a newly formed coalition of Syrian opposition groups and whether a real political settlement can be achieved anytime soon.

President Obama should make a trip to the region soon to signal a renewed commitment to helping resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel, says CFR's Robert Danin.

No matter who wins the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, an array of foreign policy challenges await, says CFR's James Lindsay.

The drawn-out talks between Iran and the P5 +1 nations over Iran's nuclear program are expected to resume after the U.S. presidential elections, says veteran arms control expert Daryl Kimball.

The myth about how the United States won the Cuban missile crisis made it more difficult for presidents to do what common sense dictated, says CFR president emeritus Les Gelb.

An intensifying anti-Assad stance has disrupted Turkey's pragmatic regional policy and aroused concerns at home that it is on a war footing, says expert Steven Heydemann.

Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose party won last week's parliamentary elections in Georgia, will forge a foreign policy based on pragmatism, not ideology, says RFE/RL's Elizabeth Fuller.

Economic woes caused by sanctions and mismanagement, coupled with an upcoming political transition, have created new uncertainties in Iran, says expert Farideh Farhi.

The Afghan troop surge has ended and full U.S. military involvement is to sunset in 2014, leaving a fragile security situation and questions about the U.S. role, says CFR's Max Boot.