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.

The latest round of UN and U.S. sanctions on Iran are unlikely to push Iran to negotiations, says sanctions expert Meghan O’Sullivan, which means the U.S. and its allies will need to look at options …

The close, completed counts in Iraq’s elections mean that it will take months of coalition-building, and Sunni-Shiite political tensions, before it’s clear who will head the new government, says CFR …

Michael Young, a political analyst in Lebanon, says the recent "Doha compromise" is not necessarily a cave-in to Hezbollah, but rather a "classic Levantine compromise."

Hezbollah rockets strike deeper into Israel and North Korea continues to progress with missile testing. CFR missile expert Michael A. Levi says these developments are likely to tighten U.S. bonds wit…