World | Security Watch | Backchannels

Whatever the merits of Tehran's case, lifting the 2007 UN embargo on the sale of conventional arms to Iran is just not going to fly in the United States.

Greece has been handed politically difficult, and technically complex, choices on a very short timeline.

With bankruptcy looming, Greece has issued only vague – and contradictory – proposals. And Europe seems unwilling to budge.

The humanitarian crisis is deepening and the chances of a political solution soon seem very slim.

With about half of the votes counted, a referendum defeat for a European bailout plan for Greece looks certain. While the news touched off partying in Athens, the hangover will prove painful.

While the jihadis of the Islamic State hope their reputation for brutality will deter their enemies, another group's snuff video shows that what has happened instead is an expansion of viciousness and cruelty.

Terrorism is nothing new in the Sinai. But it has evolved in a more dangerous direction for Egypt, and President Sisi's tactics don't seem to be working.

A wave of repression by the Sisi regime the past two years has been matched by a rise in Islamist attacks. Following the car bomb in Cairo Monday, both sides are likely to up the ante.

Overlap with such forces shouldn't be a surprise: America's wars in Iraq have required painful compromises all along.

The US has never prosecuted a citizen for trying to obtain the release of an abductee by making payments. But official policy remains that no concessions will be given to hostage-takers.