Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Lawmakers urge Biden not to ignore Iran’s support for terrorism
A bipartisan group of 140 members of Congress says it supports the Biden administration's desire to engage with Iran, but only if the goal is to reach a deal that goes beyond simply limiting Iranian nuclear activities and addresses Tehran's ballistic missile programs and support for terrorism. Published March 9, 2021
Xi Jinping warns Chinese military to increase readiness
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Tuesday that China faces a "largely unstable" security situation, telling the country's military commanders they must be "prepared to respond" to complex threats that may arise suddenly. Published March 9, 2021
Biden administration extends Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants
The Biden administration said Monday that hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who have fled the economic and humanitarian crisis in their homeland can stay in the U.S. for now, moving to cement a policy President Trump had put in place in his last days in office. Published March 8, 2021
Slain Afghan midwife among those to be honored for courage by State Department
It was nearly a year ago that Maryam Noorzad, a midwife at a hospital in Afghanistan, took a stand when extremists went on a rampage at the maternity ward where she worked in Kabul. Published March 5, 2021
China uses global COVID-19 vaccine exports to one-up U.S.
The Biden administration says it is committed to strategically countering China on the global stage, but Beijing has already seized the public relations high ground in the soft-power fight to win friends and influence through strategically placed COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to countries in need. Published March 4, 2021
Biden nominee vows to fight Russian gas pipeline to Germany
President Biden's nominee for the number two State Department leadership post says that if confirmed, she'll fight to block Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Western Europe. Published March 3, 2021
Vladimir Putin aides sanctioned over Alexei Navalny poisoning
The Biden administration took its first major swipe at Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, coordinating with the European Union on a slate of sanctions on Kremlin officials close to the Russian president in retaliation for the poisoning and jailing of Alexei Navalny, Mr. Putin's most prominent domestic critic. Published March 2, 2021
Khashoggi killing report used to ‘recalibrate’ U.S-Saudi relations
The Biden administration's circulation of the U.S. finding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the 2018 killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi represents the latest in an ongoing effort to dial back U.S.-Saudi relations from the closeness of the Trump era. Published February 28, 2021
John Kerry held backchannel talks with Iran, Javad Zarif
President Trump in 2019 sought to open a back channel of communication with top Iranian officials and saw the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September as a potential opportunity to defuse escalating tension with Tehran, but the effort failed. Published February 21, 2021
China fumes as U.S., Asia ‘Quad’ allies talk strategy
Secretary of State Antony Blinken triggered a harsh reaction in China's state-controlled media Thursday by holding a conference call with counterparts from Asia's so-called "Quad" countries -- India, Japan and Australia -- to discuss joint strategy on a range of issues in the Indo-Pacific. Published February 18, 2021
Antony Blinken, Joe Biden face issues with European Union on defense, energy policy
President Biden's arrival in the White House has brought optimistic predictions that U.S. relations with Europe are about to get a major positive overhaul, but a slate of thorny issues that divided the two sides during the Trump years isn't going away. Published February 17, 2021
Biden debuts on world stage as president with G-7, Munich meetings
President Biden's vow to expand U.S. engagement with allies will be put to the test later this week when he participates in a virtual meeting with leaders of the world's wealthiest democracies and then delivers remarks to the annual Munich Security Conference. Published February 15, 2021
Iran denies plotting attack on UAE Embassy in Ethiopia: Report
Iran is denying U.S. and Israeli claims that Iranian operatives were caught recently plotting to bomb the United Arab Emirates' Embassy in Ethiopia. Published February 15, 2021
Biden moves ahead with delisting Iran-backed Houthis as terrorists
The Biden administration formally went ahead Friday with revoking the State Department's terrorist designations of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, citing concern about the humanitarian disaster gripping the Mideast nation. Published February 12, 2021
Joe Biden opts for Asia strategy used by Trump
President Biden has promised a full-blown reset of what he and his advisers see as the disastrous foreign policy of the Trump years, but when it comes to U.S. strategy for the Indo-Pacific, the Biden team has spent its first weeks in office borrowing from the last administration's playbook. Published February 11, 2021
Joe Biden pledges to revive diplomacy, reverse Donald Trump’s moves
President Biden vowed to revamp America's global diplomatic engagement Thursday, outlining plans to keep the State Department and career diplomats "at the heart" of a push to reverse what he has framed as a withdrawal from the world during the Trump era. Published February 4, 2021
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris assure U.S. diplomats: ‘We trust you’ and will ‘have your back’
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited State Department headquarters in Washington Thursday to praise career U.S. diplomats and promise the new administration will "have [their] back" over the coming four years as it pushes a policy of expanded American diplomatic engagement around the world. Published February 4, 2021
Assadolah Assadi, Iranian diplomat, sentenced in 2018 plot to bomb dissident rally in Paris
A Belgian court on Thursday sentenced a senior Iranian diplomat to 20 years in prison Thursday on charges he plotted to carry out a terrorist attack against a major rally held by an Iranian dissident group near Paris in 2018. Published February 4, 2021
‘New Start’: Biden moves ahead with U.S.-Russia nuclear treaty extension despite GOP complaints
The Biden administration formally went ahead Wednesday with its plan to extend a major nuclear nonproliferation treaty with Russia by five years, despite outcry from critics -- including several influential Republican lawmakers -- who say the move ignores China's emergence as a major nuclear power and cedes leverage to Moscow over future negotiations. Published February 3, 2021
Alexei Navalny-Russia protests, Myanmar coup test Biden human rights push
A military coup in Myanmar and major street demonstrations against Russian strongman Vladimir Putin are presenting an early, double-pronged test of President Biden's vow to put promoting democracy and human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. Published February 2, 2021