Iran

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.

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.

The widening conflict in the Middle East underscores the recurrent vulnerability of fossil fuel energy systems—and why a pivot to renewables is critical.

The congressional split over the war powers resolution signals that US President Donald Trump lacks broad support for the military intervention in Iran—and opposition on Capitol Hill is likely to grow if the war grinds on.

"A two-week ceasefire is going to be very unstable," Council Lester Crown Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson says. "You need to have some stability for tankers to move in and out, so anything that threatens that will continue this crisis and keep energy prices high."

"Ceasefires are incredibly precarious," says Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri.  "But it does give at least a pause—at least a window—to try and push forward more of a negotiation, especially on the question of the nuclear conditions."

"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."

"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.