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.
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.
"It really puts Europe in a difficult position. On the one hand, they're frustrated that they've been left out in the cold for this entire operation," says Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Julianne Smith. "On the other hand, . . . they're also recognizing that they need the strait to be open."
The US-led postwar international order is being tested in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz and in the shrewd calculations of governments from New Delhi to Helsinki.
The widening conflict in the Middle East underscores the recurrent vulnerability of fossil fuel energy systems—and why a pivot to renewables is critical.
"America's allies and partners were not asked to come along until after the strikes began. There was no real process in building a consensus," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri said. "Now they're scrambling."
As the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran and the conflict intensified, global leaders gathered in New Delhi to debate what comes next. Harsh Pant and Karim Haggag share the takeaways.
"His elevation sends the clearest possible message to Iranian society, to the region, and to the outside world that the Islamic Republic is no longer even pretending to renew itself," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Saeid Golkar writes.
