The U.S. announced Monday it will not renew special waivers that allowed eight countries, including Turkey, to import Iranian oil without violating renewed sanctions.

The Trump administration continues to violate the basic principles of the international order established by the U.S. itself after World War II because the system no longer serves its interests. Rising global and regional powers, such as India, Indonesia and especially China, are the main beneficiaries of the continuation of the current system. The U.S. has been pursuing paradoxical policies, especially for the last decade.

Its geographic location as a bridge between East and West and its geopolitical significance made Turkey, particularly Istanbul, attractive for Bond movies. During the Cold War, as one of the most critical cities that absorbed the stress and tension of the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the U.S., the backdrop of Istanbul made the jobs of the producers of the popular culture films easier. This status of Istanbul continued following the end of the Cold War.

With no Daesh-held territories left and McGurk, Votel gone, time for the US to seriously reassess the role of CENTCOM and its policies

Turkey's decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense system has become a major sticking point with the U.S. While Turkey attaches great importance to procuring the air defense system, U.S. policymakers, who consider Turkey's decision a complete deviation from its traditional alliance system, have begun to threaten the country.

While many focus nowadays on the S-400/F-35 tensions taking place in Turkish-American relations, another issue, namely Syria, is being discussed at the highest levels among officials from the two countries. For the last eight years, the divergence of policies in regards to the crisis in Syria has become one of the most significant irritants in bilateral relations.

Turkish-American relations are strained again ahead of the delivery of S-400 air defense systems from Russia. In their Moscow meeting at the beginning of the week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the plan to deliver the first set of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey in early July.

The objective of this report is to scrutinize the effectiveness of the reconstruction efforts as part of Turkey’s security-oriented active policies in the light of the developments in Syria.

The Middle East has been experiencing turmoil since the Arab Spring uprisings and revolutions. A process of counterrevolution started with the military coup in Egypt in 2013. Much of the regional mayhem stems from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi-led efforts to reverse the democratization process initiated with the Arab uprisings and discourage any popular demands.

As the last remaining Daesh territory is on the verge of elimination, a worrying number of Daesh militants, mostly women and their children, have surrendered themselves to the People's Protection Units (YPG).

What is the context of the decision? What does this decision mean for Israel and for Netanyahu? What are the possible implications of the decision?

Which natural resources did the YPG seize control of after its engagement with the U.S.? What is the extent of YPG-controlled natural resources and what is the YPG’s energy trade capacity? How important are these resources?

When the French and the British carved up the Middle East, the Golan Heights was part of the French mandate. It was not part of the Palestinian territories, where the Israelis claimed their authority. And after the mandate was abolished for the current nation-states, the Golan Heights was naturally left for Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump took yet another step to legitimize Israeli expansionism after recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year. 'After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the state of Israel and regional stability', Trump tweeted. Governments around the world reacted harshly to that decision.

The final two weeks of any election campaign fuels the momentum that settles the score. Leaders and candidates, therefore, put their best foot forward in the final days before the election. Turkey finds itself at that very spot now. The municipal election is just 10 days away.

In the last few years, it has become commonplace to question the future of the alliance between Turkey and the U.S. Some pundits emphasized the various disagreements between the two countries to indicate that the alliance has weakened and does not have the same strategic weight it used to have in previous decades.

On March 13, the European Parliament voted on the suspension of accession talks with Turkey.