Center for International Policy

Advancing a more peaceful, just & sustainable world by centering people & the planet in US foreign policy | Home of @CIPolicyJournal

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

The UK announced new measures in response to Israeli settlements.

"Banning the import of settlement goods and sanctioning those who facilitate settlement expansion are welcome, if long overdue, steps" says EVP @mattduss. The US should adopt similar measures, not resist them.

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

Congrats to CIP Senior Non Resident Fellow @MPaarlberg! Check out his work with CIP here: https://t.co/MwjZzAZEbi

[APSA @APSAtweets]

Dr. Michael Paarlberg receives the 2026 Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Mentor Award for Mentoring of Undergraduates: https://t.co/ieJtSrl8bW

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

@CIPolicyJournal The Trump administration is pushing a wider arms embargo on Sudan at the UN. That approach focuses on weapons arriving in-country, while eliding which countries are arming parties to the conflict. Congress and the Security Council can do more. https://t.co/gbDXCLg2uO

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

Washington is pressing for a wider UN arms embargo on Sudan while refusing to use its direct leverage over the UAE. The war on Iran explains why.

The latest @CIPolicyJournal, by Michael Ishak https://t.co/gbDXCLg2uO

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

By sanctioning the ICC, the "U.S. is not simply declining to uphold international law — it is imposing costs on others for attempting to uphold it" argues CIP President & CEO @NancyGEO in @thehill.

Congress should stand ready to reverse the sanctions. https://t.co/zcPy3jvwly

[Nancy Okail @NancyGEO]

If anyone still takes Sisi’s pledge to leave in 2030 or his talk of political opening seriously, here’s your answer: a court ordered Mada Masr, one of Egypt’s leading independent newsrooms, shut down; fined Lina Attalah EGP 3 million; and detained her until the fine is paid.

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

CIP repeats its call, with that of over 119 civil society and independent media organizations, that Egypt should halt its prosecution of Lina Attalah, and instead protect independent media in Egypt

https://t.co/VwU9tISDx4

[Mada Masr مدى مصر @MadaMasr]

قررت الدائرة التاسعة بمحكمة جنح القاهرة الجديدة، برئاسة المستشار محمد مبارك، معاقبة رئيسة تحرير «مدى مصر»، لينا عطالله، بغرامة قدرها ثلاثة ملايين جنيه، في اتهامها بإدارة موقع بدون ترخيص، وغلق «مدى مصر»، وهو الحكم الذي أعقبه احتجاز عطاالله على يد قوات الأمن.
المدير التنفيذي للمبادرة المصرية للحقوق الشخصية، حسام بهجت، الذي حضر الجلسة، أوضح لـ«مدى مصر» أنه بعد رفع الجلسة إثر تمسك الدفاع بطلبه الحصول على وقت كافٍ للاطلاع على أوراق القضية، أمر القاضي بإخلاء القاعة بالكامل باستثناء «المتهمة» وفريق الدفاع الحاضر عنها، ما تبعه امتلاء القاعة بضباط وحرس بزي مدني، وحضور ضابط «الأمن الوطني».
بعدها، خرج رئيس المحكمة وممثل نيابة أمن الدولة، وأعلن رئيس المحكمة أنها قررت التمسك برفض جميع الدفوع الإجرائية المقدمة من الدفاع، بما في ذلك ضم أي مستندات أو سماع أي شهود، قبل أن يطلب من فريق الدفاع تقديم مرافعته، والذي تمسك بعدم الترافع في ظل عدم الاستجابة للطلبات المقدمة، ليطلب القاضي فجأة إدخال أحد المحامين غير المعلومين لأي من أفراد فريق الدفاع، «وفي تصرف مذهل لجميع الحاضرين» أعلن القاضي أن المحكمة قررت انتداب محامي للدفاع عن المتهمة.
عند تلك النقطة تعالت صيحات جميع أعضاء فريق الدفاع رفضًا لحضور محامي منتدب في ضوء حضور المحامين الأصليين الثمانية، فيما تحدث لينا عطالله نفسها، وأعلنت رفضها حضور هذا المحامي عنها، وهو ما رفض رئيس المحكمة تسجيله في محضر الجلسة.
«وفي تصرف أكثر إثارة للصدمة»، شرع رئيس المحكمة بنفسه في تسجيل طلبات المحامي المنتدب في محضر الجلسة، دون حتى أن ينطق المحامي بكلمة من الأصل، قبل أن يبدأ القاضي في تلاوة حكم الإدانة، وسط صراخ وصيحات اعتراض فريق الدفاع، مقررًا إدانة لينا عطاالله ومعاقبتها بالعقوبة الأقصى، وهي الغرامة بمبلغ ثلاثة ملايين جنيه وغلق موقع «مدى مصر» ومصادرة المُعدات والأجهزة. وبعدها فوجئ الحاضرون بأفراد الأمن يحيطون بلينا عطاالله، ويحملونها من على الأرض إلى خارج القاعة، حيث لا تزال إلى الآن محتجزة.

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

After Brazil's first round election, @CIPolicyJournal's @AthertonKD spoke with @MPaarlberg about the return of Bolsonarismo. Lula beat expectations and won the second round over Flavio, but many of the structural obstacles persist. Read more in our Q&A https://t.co/OQvvHYim1F

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

Read @SinaToossi in the @CIPolicyJournal on how Tehran's leaders, despite Washington's perception, are now committed to match escalation with escalation until securing a negotiated settlement based on mutual concessions https://t.co/NPFpVri8Nu

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

As the UN debates its next Secretary General, CIP reiterates its call that UAE's Minister Lana Nusseibeh (the "compromise" candidate backed by Trump) has a record of undermining international law, has ties to anti-democratic rulers, and is a bad fit https://t.co/IAY5EqxwdF

[Dylan Williams @dylanotes]

The good news from Brazil and Serbia tonight is a reminder that democracy can and must prevail against the forces of autocracy.

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

Waiting for election returns in Brazil? Read our Q&A with @MPaarlberg the return on Bolsonarismo and the hurdles before Lula despite material improvements in Brazilian lives https://t.co/OQvvHYim1F

[Michael Paarlberg @MPaarlberg]

It's not the economy, stupid: some comments on the Brazil election from my @newrepublic interview

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

Read the full statement, and the letter to which CIP is a signatory, here:

https://t.co/bXLTBgeNPc

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

CIP has joined the global call to end the prosecution of Mada Masr editor-in-chief Lina Attalah and protect independent journalism in Egypt.

"Egyptian authorities must end this prosecution and allow Lina and her colleagues to report freely," says @NancyGEO

[Negar Mortazavi @NegarMortazavi]

Will the U.S. and Israel attack Iran again? How will Tehran respond?

I joined @AJEnglish to discuss what comes next in the war as U.S. and Israeli elections draw closer.

[Dylan Williams @dylanotes]

Israeli settlement expansion & settler violence are out of control. The last 3 years saw 50,000 West Bank Palestinians forced from their homes by Israeli military operations, demolitions & settler terror attacks.

Now, dozens of lawmakers led by @JoaquinCastrotx are pushing back.

[Dylan Williams @dylanotes]

The next UN Secretary-General must defend international institutions and norms against the forces of autocracy and corruption.

@CIPolicy explains why Lana Nusseibeh, the public face of the UAE's denials of arming a genocide in Sudan, is the wrong choice: https://t.co/qVTEMLBhtm

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

Read the full statement here https://t.co/IAY5EqxwdF

[Center for International Policy @CIPolicy]

While long past time for a woman to serve as SecGen UN needs one who stands with "ordinary people caught in crossfire of conflict, catastrophe & instability – not one who has helped shield the wealthy & powerful" driving violence & suffering @NancyGEO
https://t.co/IAY5EqxwdF

[Sina Toossi @SinaToossi]

👇 In my new piece published today for @CIPolicy, I examine the dangerous stalemate between the US and Iran, the options facing Trump, and why another major round of fighting could prove even more disastrous.

Both sides are currently locked in a costly war of attrition. Washington is maintaining its blockade, hoping economic pressure will force Iran to lopsided concessions or collapse.

Tehran, meanwhile, continues to restrict and attack shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, imposing mounting costs on the US, its allies, and the global economy.

Neither side is backing down. So what happens next?

Trump could maintain the blockade, betting that the balance of pressure favors Washington and that Iran will eventually buckle or collapse.

Or he could launch another major military offensive, hoping to inflict enough damage to force Tehran to surrender its nuclear stockpile and give up the lasting leverage it seeks over Hormuz.

But further attacks are likely to badly backfire.

The wars of 2025 and 2026 have fundamentally changed Tehran's strategic thinking. Iranian leaders now believe their previous relative restraint only invited more attacks, and that deterring more aggression requires imposing gradually increased and sustained costs on the US and its allies.

Another major US attack is therefore unlikely to force Iran to surrender. Instead, Tehran is likely to intensify its attacks on shipping and regional energy infrastructure, further driving up oil prices, disrupting global markets, and making the war even costlier for Washington.

Trump could also try to declare victory and walk away, perhaps after one final, largely symbolic strike. But even then, Iran would likely retaliate disproportionately rather than absorb another attack and risk signalling weakness and inviting further aggression down the road.

The alternative is a negotiated compromise, with meaningful concessions from both sides on sanctions, Hormuz transit, and the nuclear issue.

The central danger is that Washington continues to believe more pressure will eventually force Tehran to yield, when the war has actually made Iran more determined to resist coercion and impose costs, even as it remains open to reciprocal compromise.

Link to the full piece (no paywall): https://t.co/By8W8Jbtfo