Middle East and North Africa

Iran’s elections: a bid to dilute hardliners

What has emerged in the run-up to the elections is an alignment between the reformists, centrists and some moderate conservatives to push back against a major victory by hardliners who were empowered under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Make Libya a priority

Germany has a lot to lose if the situation in Libya turns sour, but a lot to gain if diplomacy is given the support to succeed

Russia at the gates of Aleppo

Russia moves towards objective of a negotiated settlement in Syria with a mixture of calculation and carelessness