Simon Tisdall

The challenges ahead are truly daunting for a country torn apart by 13 years of civil war and split between rival factions, says the Observer’s foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall

After Syria, Israel and the US fear Tehran will build an atomic bomb. Their threats may produce that very outcome

Self-serving meddling by Israel, Turkey and other foreign powers puts the revolution at risk. They should back off now

Leading FFF teams include Donald Trump’s Mad Angry Geezers Athletic (Maga) and Vladimir Putin’s Greater Russia United (GRU)

The new US president will almost certainly bring unpredictability but several themes will dominate the year ahead. Observer writers offer their guide on what lies ahead in politics, film, fashion, sport and more

Under Donald Trump, the US may become an unreliable ally. The case is getting stronger for Seoul to build its own deterrent

In another era, the outgoing president would have made a great cold war leader. Instead, his tenure was dogged by errors, naivety and overcaution

Netanyahu has no interest in lasting peace. From these beginnings must come political change – and a reckoning, says the Observer’s foreign affairs commentator, Simon Tisdall

On the eve of his return, it’s clear that world leaders, whether they like him or loathe him, can’t ignore this unpredictable showman

Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas both have reasons to collapse the agreement. Honest brokers must do all they can to keep it alive, says Simon Tisdall, the Observer’s foreign affairs commentator