Thanks to the rift between Turkey and Israel, Ankara's days as a power broker in the Arab-Israeli conflict are over, says Steven A. Cook.

Israel must accept that negotiating with Hamas is the only way forward, says Ed Husain.

Elliott Abrams says, "The next three to six months in the Middle East will make Obama administration officials look back to 2012 with nostalgia as a quiet time when they were able to focus on the campaign. The coming year will be much tougher—starting now."

Throughout the Middle East, Micah Zenko finds blistering criticisms of U.S. foreign policy alongside serious misunderstandings about the limits of American power.

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.

Steven A. Cook says Gaza's radiating instability proves once again that Palestine is at the center of the region's problems.

Leslie H. Gelb says all parties involved share some responsibility for the crisis in Gaza. But Hamas is by far the biggest villain.

The IAEA Board released the Director General's quarterly report on progress of the NPT Safeguards Agreement with Iran, on November 16, 2012. The report provides an update on the nuclear situation in Iran since the last report of August 2012.

Steven A. Cook says leadership in the Middle East is up for grabs as the Syrian war intensifies, the Arab Spring changes regional power dynamics, and Israel's airstrikes and Hamas rockets again roil Gaza. Last year, Turkey was the assumed role model for the region. But it has fallen down on the job.

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.

Osama Suleiman, a Syrian immigrant to Britain and head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has taken on the task of counting the death toll in Syria through hours of videos shot by activists and journalists in the country.

In his upcoming term President Barack Obama will have to adopt a softer stance on many issues in the Middle East to avoid conflict that could have large domestic implications.

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.

In the Middle East, there is a perception that President Obama and the United States cannot be relied upon. But Obama's reelection is now an opportunity for the president to show his leadership and reliability in the region, says Ed Husain.

Jimmy Carter is at it again, says Elliott Abrams on the former president's latest vilification of Israel in a recent Al Ahram interview.

The mood in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk -- the three largest cities in Iraqi Kurdistan -- is newly buoyant these days, and with good reason.

Deterring Iran's nuclear weapons program is a foreign policy priority for the United States. Candidates for the 2012 presidential elections debate the best options, including a military strike.

International efforts to ease Syria's crisis have been limited by divisions in the UN Security Council and wariness about a military response, explains this Backgrounder.

CFR fellow Isobel Coleman speaks with two women leaders, Marianne Ibrahim from Egypt and Souad Slaoui from Morocco, as they discuss initiatives in their home countries to empower women and girls, improve inter-faith dialogues, and encourage positive policy changes that support human rights and international development.

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.