Amid political paralysis in Baghdad, the populist Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is pressuring lawmakers to approve Prime Minister Abadi’s proposed reforms, says expert Mohamad Bazzi. 

The odds of a peaceful power transition emerging from another summit on the Syria crisis are poor, but the U.S.-Russian push for renewed diplomacy is still worthwhile, says expert Frederic C. Hof.

At the start of the Persian New Year, leaders in Iran are faced with a host of difficult political challenges, both foreign and domestic, says expert Karim Sadjadpour.

A new regime in Damascus could threaten Iran’s support of Hezbollah and deprive Tehran of its one ally in the region, so it’s counseling the Assad government to hang tough, says Iran expert Karim Sad…

The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has sparked a debate in Egypt about retributive justice versus the rule of law, which will be among the many issues to play out in the fall’s parl…