What is going on in Iran? Iran's protests reflect intense debate about new economic policies and priorities, particularly trade-offs between economic development, political consolidation and regional prestige. Escalation suggests U.S. efforts at regime change, as Iran is increasingly looking toward the east and development opportunities with China.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed decades of U.S. policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imperiling Middle East peace efforts and

Only Washington can effectively narrow down the huge gap between the two sides and help them find an appropriate compromise that saves face for both rather than shifting all the responsibility onto others.

With a lucrative arms contract and a strategic shift toward Saudi Arabia Israel, the US consolidated long-standing alliances at the likely expense of warming relations with Iran. But the new president has shifted his ground quickly on more than one issue, and so his Middle East policy still should be viewed as a work in progress.

Even after the city’s anticipated retaking, jihadist ideas advocated by ISIS carry certain ideological appeal, which will not go away because of the group’s military defeat in the region or the deaths of its leaders. The chaotic environments of Iraq and Syria offer a rich seedbed for continued instability, recruiting and violence.

Either scenario is possible, depending on what investigators discover about who was really responsible for the gas attack. Whatever the outcome, big-power cooperation against terrorism has been weakened, and IS terrorists likely were the only ones who were actually cheering amid the explosions of Tomahawk cruise missiles.

With America further withdrawing during Trump’s presidency, the Middle East will have new geopolitical landscape with new complexity. It should be clear that China’s growing economic relations with the region should benefit the region, though how soon and how much this relationship can enhance peace or stability remains to be seen.

The anticipated defeat of the Islamic State is not likely to mean calm in the region, since thousands of disaffected jihadist fighters will be scattered and looking for new opportunities to spread their ideology. Meanwhile, the newly energized Kurds – key players in the war against IS – will have political demands that will be difficult to satisfy, and may lead to new conflicts.

As demands of 9/11 victim families get traction and America’s for imported energy declines, U.S. foreign policy is being dominated by “inward-looking election-year motivation”. If that continues into next year, no matter who is president, U.S. anti-terror strategy is unlikely to continue to enjoy full support from Saudi Arabia. With traditional allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel beginning to engage Russia in private, the U.S. could lose its dominant position in Middle East affairs.