On March 8, the United States allowed a waiver to expire that had permitted Iraq to buy Iranian electricity. The move was the latest in the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign to cut off Iran’s revenue streams and push Tehran to negotiate over its controversial nuclear program. The waiver dates back to President Trump’s first term. In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which had granted Iran sanctions relief in return for curbing its nuclear program and expanding cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Type: Question and Answer

Once seen as a promising democracy in West Africa, Guinea has been mired in political turmoil in recent years — especially in the wake of the country’s 2021 military coup. After initially promising a smooth transition to democracy, the ruling junta led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has repeatedly postponed key milestones, cracked down on opposition, restricted media and committed a number of human rights violations.

Type: Analysis

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is looking for U.S. investors in the mining sector as a way to break China’s dominance over the country’s reserves of cobalt, copper and other critical minerals. However, the DRC’s struggles with violence and weak governance make this seem like a risky proposition — but it doesn’t have to be. USIP’s Thomas Sheehy, Gécamines’ Guy-Robert Lukama and USIP Senior Study Group on Critical Minerals in Africa member Anthony Carroll explain how the United States can build mutually beneficial partnerships with countries like the DRC that address, rather than worsen, regional instability and serve U.S. economic and security interests.

Type: Blog

Under pressure from China, Thailand has begun its most significant crackdown to date on the transnational crime groups that dominate the Myanmar-Thailand border region. USIP’s Jason Tower explains what prompted the crackdown, how it will impact global efforts to curb transnational crime, what it says about China’s growing influence in the region, and how this all affects U.S. security interests.

Type: Question and Answer