While the Trump administration's proposed agreement would curtail Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, it would not touch the real drivers of the Islamic Republic’s power.
"Disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz do not remain confined to shipping lanes—they propagate through agricultural systems worldwide," Council Distinguished Fellow Ertharin Cousin writes.
“I had never seen the Middle East as chaotic, as dangerous, as spiraling out of control as it is today.” Fawaz Gerges on why he believes the region is entering a much more dangerous phase.
" Even talking about the US formally leaving or just slowly disengaging sends a very dangerous signal to Moscow," Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith said of President Trump's remarks about withdrawing from NATO.
Targeting Iran's public utilities would constitute a war crime, Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast tells NBC 5 Chicago. "There's supposed to be distinction between military and civilian [targets]."
"This is an intervention, a war, a conflict that the US began," says Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith. "It did not take any information about this intervention to the NATO allies to warn them that there could be asks coming from the United States."
Thinking about Pakistan as a South Asian power misses the fact that it has regional connections to the Middle East—and global power connections it can leverage.
