BERLIN — When Iran announced in January that it would further “reduce” its commitments under the 2015 deal limiting its nuclear activities, it was not responding to the United States’ assassination of Iranian Quds Force leader General Qassem Soleimani a few days earlier

BERLIN — As the United States and Iran face off in the Gulf, their asymmetric conflict risks spiralling out of control.

BERLIN — Despite the tensions generated by Brexit, the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom have stood together in disputes between the European Union and the United States.

Three distinct timelines are shaping developments in the Middle East: The short-term timeline of daily struggles and politics; the medium-term timeline of geopolitical shifts, which is measured in decades; and the long-term timeline of socio-cultural transformation, or what the h