Jacob Wirtschafter

Can U.S.-Iran talks prevent a regional war — or just buy time?

Iran's rejection of Turkey as a venue for nuclear talks with the United States this week exposed a hard truth about Middle East diplomacy: No one in the region is expecting a breakthrough.

February 5, 2026

For one U.S. ally and NATO member, regime change in Iran spells disaster

Against a backdrop of escalating violence in neighboring Iran, Turkey is delivering an increasingly pointed warning to Washington: What the Trump administration may see as an opportunity, Ankara sees as the prelude to catastrophe.

January 14, 2026

Azerbaijan, Armenia quietly pull back from Moscow, edge closer to Washington after Trump peace deal

The Trump-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is reshaping the South Caucasus and advancing U.S. strategic interests, despite lingering opposition in the U.S. Congress rooted in 1990s-era constituency politics.

January 1, 2026

Trump pressures Netanyahu on Syria as Israeli actions threaten fragile stability

Nearly a year after this border province in Syria became a focal point of Israel's response to the fall of Bashar Assad, what the Netanyahu administration then described as "temporary" security measures have hardened into a sustained military presence on Syrian soil, complicating President Trump's efforts to turn the fragile new government in Damascus into a reliable U.S. ally.

December 30, 2025

Arab leaders say Trump’s vision of Middle East reset requires clarity, firm commitments from U.S.

The Trump administration's new national security strategy has rejected what it calls America's "misguided experiment" of hectoring Gulf monarchies and declared "the days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-term planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over."

December 9, 2025

Escalating Sudan civil war threatens to pull U.S., allies and foes into new Middle East quagmire

Sudan's civil war has opened the door to expanding Iranian influence in Africa and is posing an increasingly dire threat to the new U.S.-backed military and economic order that the Trump administration is trying to build, nation by nation, across the Middle East.

November 20, 2025

Saudi Arabia orchestrates Syria’s White House debut as al-Sharaa seeks sanctions relief

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's back-to-back visits to the White House starting Monday will mark more than diplomatic courtesies; they also will reflect direct coordination between Riyadh and Damascus to ease Syria's isolation and press Congress for sanctions relief.

November 5, 2025

Turkey’s Eurofighter deal repositions Ankara at the center of NATO’s southern flank

Turkey's $10.7 billion agreement to buy 20 British-built Eurofighter Typhoons marks more than a weapons purchase -- it's a recalibration of Ankara's place in Western defense, an assertion of independence from Washington and a signal that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to remain indispensable to NATO.

October 30, 2025

Gaza’s new war: Armed clans challenge Hamas as executions mount

Gaza's fragile ceasefire is unraveling as Israel lashes back at attacks on its soldiers armed clan militias challenge the remnants of a still-lethal Hamas, which has tried to retain some control over the territory with a brutal crackdown that has left dozens of suspected traitors and rivals dead, some of them publicly executed.

October 16, 2025

Saudi-Pakistan defense pact signals shift as Gulf states hedge bets on U.S. security guarantees

President Trump's efforts to bring peace to Gaza earned the United States enormous credibility in capitals across the Middle East -- but this week's flex of American diplomatic muscle was too little, too late for one Gulf power upset over Israel's stunning early September strike on Qatar.

October 15, 2025

U.S.-backed modernization of ‘Golden Road’ across Middle East at risk as war in Gaza drags on

The future of a new "Golden Road" -- a U.S.-backed modernization of the ancient land and sea trade route across Saudi Arabia that would link a booming India to Europe -- is at risk as U.S. President Trump's tariffs and Israel's war on Gaza have taken a toll on the cross-border cooperation needed to keep the project moving.

September 22, 2025

Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal undercuts Russia, elevates Trump, U.S. in Central Asia

The Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal is more than just a bullet point on President Trump's Nobel Peace Prize checklist: The U.S.-brokered breakthrough has redrawn the diplomatic map of the South Caucasus, displacing Russia and Iran while positioning Washington as the primary mediator.

August 25, 2025

Tribes rise, tunnels fall: Who is shaping Gaza’s next phase?

In the vacuum left in Gaza by Israel's ongoing decimation of Hamas, an unlikely power broker has emerged in Rafah, near the Egyptian border: Yasser Abu Shabab -- a former smuggler with a criminal past.

August 7, 2025

Middle East largely quiet as Israel dismantles Iranian nuclear, military capabilities

As Israel's war with Iran reshapes the Middle East, regional powers including Turkey, Egypt and Jordan are recalibrating their responses -- pushing back against military escalation, shielding fragile economies and distancing themselves from what they see as a one-sided U.S. policy.

June 24, 2025

Iron Dome weathers Iranian barrages while Israel takes out missile launchers

A handful of the Iranian missiles fired in daily barrages since early Friday have managed to pierce Israel's multilayered air defenses, hitting targets and claiming lives in Tel Aviv and Haifa, but defense analysts say Israel's Iron Dome shield system appears to be holding its own.

June 18, 2025

Erdogan’s moment: Turkish leader has become indispensable in Trump’s Middle East

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- emboldened by the Trump White House's embrace of a more muscular Turkey -- is racing to capitalize on the opening by settling scores, making deals and putting his country center stage in the Middle East

June 11, 2025

Rebranding a leader, rebuilding a country fuel hope in Damascus

Sanctions off. Embassies sidelined. Private money in. That's the Trump administration's new playbook for Syria -- and it's nothing like the U.S. foreign policy that came before.

May 26, 2025

An Egypt spooked by Trump designs on Suez Canal is upgrading Red Sea fleet with Chinese submarines

President Trump has basked this week in lavish welcome ceremonies and signed eye-popping deals in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but Arab leaders in nearby Egypt are decidedly more skeptical about the U.S. president's interest in the region, especially after his remarks last month about the Suez Canal.

May 14, 2025

Trump sees opportunity for peace, profits in trip to Middle East

President Trump departs Washington on Monday for a high-stakes, three-nation tour through the Persian Gulf, starting in Saudi Arabia. The tour is aimed at rebooting U.S. alliances under his "reciprocity" doctrine.

May 11, 2025

Arab plan to rebuild Gaza, head off Trump faces hurdles, skepticism

President Trump and a coalition of Arab nations have proposed very different ways to rebuild and revitalize the Gaza Strip, the crowded Palestinian enclave devastated by Israel's military campaign to avenge the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist rampage by Hamas militants. For many in Gaza pondering an uncertain future, the how is far less important than the when.

March 18, 2025