Features

• April 11, 2026

  US Revisits Georgia's Black Sea Port as Strategic Corridors Rise

  After nearly two years of frozen ties, Washington and Tbilisi are talking again. But the sudden outreach appears driven less by a strategic reset than by competing pressures over trade corridors, China’s growing footprint, and shifting regional priorities, analysts say.

• April 10, 2026

  David Schenker: US And Iran 'Very Far' Apart Before Pakistan Talks

  David Schenker, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Affairs, told Current Time that all options are on the table for President Donald Trump as the US and Iran remain "very far" apart as they head into negotiations in Pakistan.

• April 10, 2026

  Dark Crossings And Danger Money: Sailors Relive 1980s 'Tanker War' Amid Hormuz Crisis

  Sailors who survived the 1980s tanker war in the Persian Gulf in which scores of merchant sailors were killed say the current crisis over the Strait of Hormuz risks a descent into another all-out maritime conflict.

• April 10, 2026

  Transit Toll: A Sea Change In US Freedom Of Navigation Policy?

  Iran wants any peace deal to include a right for it to collect fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. With around 130 ships crossing the strait every day before the war, the toll would be a windfall for Iran. But would it be legal?

• April 10, 2026

  As Hungary Votes, They're Watching Closely In Kyiv, Moscow, And Beyond

  Hungarians vote in elections on April 12 as war rages in neighboring Ukraine and the government’s relationship with Russia is under intense scrutiny. Polls suggest that after 16 years in office, Prime Minister Viktor Orban may lose power to opposition leader Peter Magyar.

• April 10, 2026

  Anti-China Demonstrators In Kazakhstan Awaiting Sentence In Closed-Door Trial

  19 activists in Kazakhstan who organized a protest against China's mass internment camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang are expected to receive their sentencing from a Kazakh court next week. The decision will be a signal of China's growing influence in the Central Asia country.

• April 09, 2026

  Allison Minor: Cease-Fire Or Strategic Pause? Lebanon, Hormuz Test The Iran Truce

  RFE/RL spoke with Allison Minor, director of the Atlantic Council’s Project for Middle East Integration, about the shaky US-Iran cease-fire and what could come next for the war and the region.

• April 09, 2026

  Strait Of Hormuz 'Toll' Could Breach Maritime Law, Industry Insiders Say

  Amid reports Iran and the US are considering charging vessels a “toll” to transit the Strait of Hormuz, maritime insiders says such a move could backfire if other countries decide to charge ships for passing through natural maritime chokepoints.

• April 08, 2026

  Joey Hood: What Did The US, Iran Learn From Five Weeks Of War?

  Veteran ambassador Joey Hood, a career diplomat who has served with a focus on the Middle East under multiple US administrations, says the US and Iran have each drawn stark lessons from the violent new chapter in decades of hostility.

• April 08, 2026

  In Russia, Putin Sees Something Not Seen In Years: A Notable Drop In Approval Ratings

  The drop does not signal a political crisis for Putin. But Kremlin officials are sensitive to shifts in public opinion, and the current trend is being scrutinizing internally by the officials charged with managing Russia’s political system.

• April 08, 2026

  Three Things To Watch As The US-Iran Cease-Fire Takes Hold

  A cease-fire has paused the Iran war but the contradictions are already multiplying. Who foots the bill for Iran’s Hormuz toll? What did Iran and the United States actually agree to on enrichment? And does the deal even cover Lebanon?

• April 08, 2026

  How Pakistan Bolstered Its Diplomatic Image By Brokering A Cease-Fire

  Pakistan appears to have achieved a significant diplomatic breakthrough by playing a proactive role in brokering a 14-day cease-fire and setting the stage for the US-Iran talks in Islamabad on February 10.

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