ForeignPolicy

This week in FP’s Latin America Brief: The United States lifts sanctions on Venezuela’s interim leader, meteorologists warn of a destructive El Niño, and Uruguay holds a secular Easter week. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/10/venezuela-us-...

If Pakistan’s mediation succeeds, it will elevate its regional standing and help it avoid a direct military confrontation it cannot afford, writes @salmanmasood. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/10/pakistan-us-i...

In less than two months, the world has gone from Hormuz transit conducted without fear or toll payments, to transit that is either too risky or involves payment that enriches Iran and strengthens China’s currency. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/hormuz-iran-t...

Trump has decimated the norms of diplomatic communication, and other countries have followed suit. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/10/iran-war-trum...

The current crisis is unfolding in a fundamentally different global energy system than the oil crises of the 1970s, argues @rabah_arezki. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/iran-war-oil-...

With the White House focused on Iran, momentum toward peace in the Caucasus could be lost, writes Joshua Kucera. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/iran-armenia-...

Washington’s offensive stance makes the global cyberspace more aggressive, crowded, and unstable, argues Ahana Datta Fasel. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/07/trump-cyber-s...

Resharing my piece in @ForeignPolicy on Ghalibaf— the man who appears to be leading the talks for the Iranians and who multiple officials have lent their support to tonight

Countries are lining up for military deals with Kyiv. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/ukraine-benef...

Militias aligned with Tehran are embedded in some of Iraq’s most powerful networks. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/iraq-iran-mil...

World Brief: U.S.-Iran peace talks risk collapsing before they even begin, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosts a rare meeting with Taiwan’s opposition leader, and Djibouti’s president looks set to secure a sixth term. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/10/us-iran-peace...

As Islamabad hosts peace talks, it’s also balancing a security pact with Riyadh. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/10/pakistan-us-i...

Beijing still treats the use of force in the Taiwan Strait as a last resort, writes Zichen Wang. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/xi-jinping-ch...

Instead of ending the fighting, the current deal has mostly managed to complicate it. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/iran-cease-fi...

If Congress approves a wildly exaggerated budget request for the Pentagon, we may eventually see Washington follow the Soviets into decline, writes columnist @hofrench. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/trump-iran-mi...

Israel’s ongoing offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon has emerged as perhaps the greatest challenge to the fragile Iran war cease-fire since. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/israel-lebano...

Agreeing or disagreeing with Brett McGurk’s body of work is a Rorschach test for whether one thinks U.S. policy in the Middle East has been a success or failure. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/brett-mcgurk-...

In our latest @ForeignPolicy piece, @hamid_dahouei and I argue: The Iran war was not just about oil, missiles, or Hormuz. It exposed something far more consequential: the physical vulnerability of the infrastructure powering the AI age. What we call “the cloud” is not abstract.

If Americans want to stop making the same mistakes, they need to pay far less attention to chronic purveyors of bad advice, writes columnist @stephenwalt. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/america-pro-w...

A landmark legal ruling has dealt a fresh setback to the United Kingdom’s deal with Mauritius to hand back the Chagos Islands, Britain’s last African colony, after a bitter, decades-long battle, reports @nosmotg. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/uk-chagos-isl...

Beijing wants to show that U.S. military deterrence does not provide the decisive explanation for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, writes Deng Yuwen. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/xi-jinping-ch...

Hegseth is fixated on shaping the military’s top officers to conform to his preference for being straight, male, conservative Christian, and white. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/pete-hegseth-...

Sudden market downturns have been a constant theme of the so-called TACO trade, writes columnist @michaelphirsh. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/the-one-thing...

Prices for things like diesel, jet fuel, and fertilizer will stay elevated well into the second half of this year. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/energy-crisis...

Experts always knew what would happen. Trump just isn’t listening. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/iran-war-ceas...

Popular diplomatic tools have essentially no impact on Sudan, and the remaining options are difficult or out of reach entirely. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/06/sudan-war-dip...

Efforts by the Iraqi government may weaken Iran-linked groups, but they are unlikely to destroy them completely, writes @Tamerbadawi1. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/iraq-iran-mil...

Officials in both Armenia and Azerbaijan are expressing concern that Trump’s tiny circle of trusted foreign-policy figures has shifted attention away from the region. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/iran-armenia-...

Iraq is being pulled into the war militarily even though its government says it is not a party to the conflict. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/07/iraq-iran-war...

While little known outside policymaking circles, Brett McGurk has held a uniquely enduring role in U.S. foreign policy over two decades. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/brett-mcgurk-...

World Brief: NATO chief Mark Rutte defends allies’ response to the Iran war, Britain and Norway conduct a covert operation to deter Russian attacks on undersea cables, and a new poll shows that most Hungarians want their country to pursue a different foreign policy. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/iran-strait-h...

For the new supreme leader and his advisors—many more hard-line than their predecessors—abandoning enrichment or surrendering nuclear material would be worse than capitulation, writes @BrewerEricM. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/07/iran-bomb-nuc...

The Suez Canal shows the U.S. can tolerate tolls when the alternative is permanent chaos. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/07/iran-war-horm...

In democracies, the road to foolish wars of choice is paved by pundits, lobbyists, advisors, and other alleged experts who argue that war will make vexing foreign-policy problems disappear, writes columnist @stephenwalt. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/america-pro-w...

Trump’s self-identity with market success is also his Achilles’ heel. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/the-one-thing...

On America's present course, true national disaster lies ahead. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/trump-iran-mi...

Even if the tenuous cease-fire holds, it will take months for energy markets to regain normalcy. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/energy-crisis...

All sides are offering conflicting statements on the terms of the truce. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/us-iran-cease...

Pakistan had both the capacity to assume the role of facilitator and the will to proactively position itself as one, writes @michaelkugelman. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/pakistan-iran...

Pakistan has led from the front, from beginning to end, on several weeks of frenetic, high-stakes regional facilitation efforts. Why and how was Pakistan, of all countries, able to occupy this prominent role? This week ⁦@ForeignPolicy⁩: foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/pakistan-iran...

Whether the cease-fire endures now depends on whether Trump realizes the importance of listening to experts instead of his gut, writes FP’s @RaviReports. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/iran-war-ceas...

Nigeria’s diaspora sent $23B home in 2023—outpacing many traditional development flows. FP Analytics’ new report, with @FordFoundation support, explores how diaspora philanthropy and investment can drive greater impact through coordination and targeted giving: diasporaphilanthropydevelopment.com

Hegseth’s holy war rhetoric has long-term implications for U.S. national security and domestic politics. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/pete-hegseth-...

Trump believes that offensive cyber power will restore deterrence, but it may give China more to exploit, writes Ahana Datta Fasel. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/07/trump-cyber-s...

Ma Xingrui, a former high-flying technocrat and Xinjiang party secretary, is officially under investigation for corruption charges. That makes him the third member of the Politburo to fall amid Xi's latest purge. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/07/china-xi-ccp-...

Today on FP Live: @AmbJohnBolton will join FP’s @RaviReports at 12:00PM ET to discuss the Trump administration’s strategy in Iran, the economic impacts of the war, and more. Register here for this free event: foreignpolicy.com/live/bolton-can-trump-st...

5 Unanswered Questions on the U.S.-Iran Cease-Fire - The fragile truce faces significant obstacles. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/us-iran-cease...

Trumpian chaos conceals a wider bipartisan shift aimed at China. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/06/trump-china-w...

The tragedy in Sudan highlights the desperate need for deep reforms of diplomatic corps, writes David Raikow. foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/06/sudan-war-dip...