FOREIGN POLICY

APRIL 8. 2026

5 Unanswered Questions on the U. S. -Iran Cease-Fire

The fragile truce faces significant obstacles.

Beijing Is Trying to Break U. S. Narratives Over Taiwan

A key meeting with the Taiwanese opposition signals a different model of cross-strait stability.

How Pakistan Helped Secure a Cease-Fire in Iran

The truce remains fragile, but Islamabad has offered to host peace talks.

Iraq’s Pro-Iran Groups Aren’t Going Anywhere

Militias aligned with Tehran are embedded in some of the country’s most powerful networks.

Hegseth’s Divine War

The U. S. defense secretary is using the military to promote Christian nationalism, experts say.

Why Trump Mishandled Iran

The U. S. president has a history of following other world leaders—or his gut—instead of his own intelligence officers and experts.

Iran Conflict Threatens Armenia-Azerbaijan Progress

Trump’s Iran policy might undermine his one successful peace accord.

U. S. and Iran Agree to 2-Week Cease-Fire

The announcement came less than two hours before Trump’s deadline was set to expire.

APRIL 7. 2026

Another Chinese Politburo Member Falls

Ma Xingrui is the latest official ensnared by anti-corruption purges.

Will Trump Attack or TACO?

T-minus four hours until either Tehran accepts a cease-fire deal or the United States attacks Iran’s civilian infrastructure.

The Iran War Is Exposing Iraq’s Weaknesses

Baghdad doesn’t control much of its own territory.

Why Energy Has Become a Foreign-Policy Weapon

Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a reminder of how everything is fair game in an era of great-power competition.

Trump Is Attacking Iranians, Not Just Iran

The destruction of infrastructure is killing ordinary people.

Preventing an Iranian Bomb Is Only Getting Harder

A weaker, angrier, more suspicious regime with a less cautious supreme leader and leverage over Hormuz. What could go wrong?