David Ignatius of the Washington Post writes that a newly confident Iran would require the United States to acknowledge Tehran's growing influence before agreeing to help stabilize Iraq.

This report released by The Century Foundation argues that the United States must strike a "grand bargain" with Tehran before the Iranian nuclear issue can be resolved.

The United States and its allies may be pondering a shift in strategy that would fold nuclear negotiations with Iran into a wider plan that addresses all of the Middle East’s crises, including the threat of civil wars in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.

With polls showing Chávez strongly in the lead in the December 3, 2006, Venezuelan presidential election, the United States needs to prepare for another six-year term with the controversial leader. This report proposes a new strategic framework for U.S. policy toward Venezuela. This report is also available in Spanish.

“Chávez’s bark...is far worse than his bite,” says a new Council Special Report, which urges U.S. officials to “look beyond his blustery rhetoric…as long as Chávez does not take steps that fundamentally threaten essential U.S. interests in Latin America.” With polls showing Chávez strongly in the lead in the upcoming December 3 Venezuelan presidential election, the United States needs to prepare for another six-year term with the controversial leader.

A groundbreaking book that reveals how the underappreciated domestic political rivalries within Iran serve to explain the country's behavior on the world stage. A leading expert explains why we fail to understand Iran and offers a new strategy for redefining this crucial relationship.

The new prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, faces the difficult task of mending frayed relations with China and South Korea. Experts say that Abe has made initial progress, but the North Korea nuclear test presents new challenges for northeast Asian relations.

“Getting Iran wrong is the single thread that has linked American administrations of all political persuasions,” writes Council Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh in his book, Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic.

Pamela K. Starr discusses a new CFR Special Report on the challenges U.S. and Mexican policy makers will face after Mexico's July 2 presidential election.

The U.S.-Turkish relationship, a Cold War strategic fixture, shows signs of fraying. A new CFR report says Washington can help repair ties by improving dialogue on Iraqi Kurds, taking a bigger role in resolving the Cyprus dispute, and boosting Ankara's bid to join the European Union.

President Bush's agenda in Vienna includes Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and trade. But in a lingering sign of trouble in the decades-old partnership, European leaders, pushed by their electorates, say they'll bring up Guantanamo, Haditha, and U.S. renditions of terrorist suspects too.

A U.S.-EU summit stresses joint resolve in confronting potential nuclear proliferation by Iran and North Korea, but also evinces continued disagreements over trade and America's conduct in the "war on terror."