Nuclear Issues

Elena Chachko analyzes the October 3, 2018 ruling by International Court of Justice on a case in which Iran sought fully re-instated sanctions relief from the United States, which was part of the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 

Last week, the Trump administration reimposed unilateral sanctions against Iran. This comes after the administration announced its intention to withdraw from the Iran deal in April, despite compelling reasons not to. Like most of America’s sanctions regimes, Trump’s order to reimpose sanctions rests on authority granted under a little-known and even less understood statute that gives the president sweeping authority to regulate certain aspects of international trade and commerce: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall appears on "Wolf" to talk about the latest sanctions on Iran.

How international law and precedent relate to the case Tehran brought to the International Court of Justice this month.

Chuck Freilich analyzes Russia's growing influence n the Middle East.

Chuck Freilich provides an analysis of the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for Israel — and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future.

The world was in suspense a week ago wondering whether OPEC and non-OPEC producers would put more oil on tightening global markets. Turns out: Yes, they will. But, as the story does not end here, it is worth assessing where we are and how we got here. While the U.S. seems to have gotten what it wanted, it is not all good news.

Chuck Freilich writes: The Trump administration does not appear to have a coherent strategy towards Iran and is now focused on North Korea. What may be even more worrisome is that Israel, too, does not appear to have a coherent and practical strategy.

Oil markets have so far reacted to President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal without either enthusiasm or panic — without even much apparent interest. There are many good reasons for this, but also many reasons to think oil markets’ complacency could change. Fortunately, the Obama-era sanctions that Trump has moved to reimpose have some lesser-known safety valves should oil markets later overheat as a result of the Iran decision.

Stephen Walt writes that Donald Trump's goal in withdrawing the United States from the JCPOA is to prevent Iran from establishing normal relations with the rest of the world.