September 11, 2026 | View in Browser | Sponsored by The Middle East Policy Forum

This week’s highlights:

- Why America Can’t Strangle Iran by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

- The Emerging U.S.-China Détente by Da Wei

- How al-Qaeda Ended by Audrey Kurth Cronin

- The Coming Risks to Russian Power by Andrey Kortunov

- Podcast: Jason Bordoff and Meghan O’Sullivan discuss disruptions to the flow of global energy

- The Case for Letting China In by Brian Deese

- How Taiwan Can Win the Strait by Holmes Liao and Dennis Blair

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At a local market in Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 2026

Why America Can’t Strangle Iran

The Sources of Tehran’s Economic Resilience

By Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, May 2026

The Emerging U.S.-China Détente

A Confident Beijing and a Pragmatic Washington Can Get Along

By Da Wei

At the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., November 2013

How al-Qaeda Ended

Terrorists Sometimes Defeat Themselves

By Audrey Kurth Cronin

St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, April 2026

The Coming Risks to Russian Power

Can Moscow Adjust Its Foreign Policy for a Changing World?

By Andrey Kortunov

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Panel Discussion: Has the Middle East Really Changed?

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The Middle East Policy Forum, in partnership with Foreign Affairs, is pleased to host F. Gregory Gause III, Marc Lynch, and Suzanne Maloney for a panel discussion on the future of the Middle East. Moderated by Foreign Affairs Executive Editor Justin Vogt, the panel goes beyond the headlines to ask: Has the Middle East really changed? Attend for free on Wednesday, September 23 at 1 p.m. E.T.