Last summer, two U.S. officials ventured into hostile territory for a secret high-stakes meeting with American adversaries. The Syrian government officials they were scheduled to meet in Damascus seemed ready to discuss the fate of U.S. hostages believed held in their country, including...

On March 27, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement, as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. The $400 billion deal had been on anvil since January 2016 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tehran following the signing of the 2015 nuclear accord...

Jordan's insistence that its palace feud has been resolved and its sweeping ban on media coverage may temporarily quiet dissent, but major challenges loom for the Western-allied monarchy long seen as a lynchpin of regional stability. The whereabouts of King Abdullah II's half brother,...

They're not leaders for life — not technically, at least. But in political reality, the powerful tenures of China's Xi Jinping and, as of this week, Russia's Vladimir Putin are looking as if they will extend much deeper into the 21st century — even as the two superpowers whose destinies...