Armenia–Azerbaijan deal worries Iran
Washington brokered an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8 aimed at opening a transit corridor through the South Caucasus. The new agreement replaces the original Zangezur...
Azerbaijanis
In the Caucasus, Donald Trump Has an Opportunity
With Azerbaijan defying Russia, the region has the opportunity to clinch a historic peace deal.
Op-eds
‘When Your Friends Have Bad Relations’: Azerbaijan Mediates Syria Deconfliction Talks Between Israel and Turkey
Agreed to Continue Discussions: Seeking to avoid “undesirable incidents,” Israel and Turkey held the first round of discussions in Azerbaijan on April 9 to create deconfliction...
Flash Briefs
Two Mobsters Found Guilty of Plotting to Assassinate Iranian American Journalist Masih Alinejad
Iran Behind Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Alinejad: A federal district court jury in Manhattan convicted Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov on March 20 for their involvement in a 2022 plot to assassinate dissident Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her New York home.
Flash Briefs
Israel Signs Deal to Give Azerbaijani State Oil Company Gas Exploration Rights
Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company Will Oversee Exploration Activities: Israel has awarded Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, gas exploration rights in Israel’s exclusive...
Flash Briefs
Iran’s loss is Turkey’s gain
Recent diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Iran reflect a broader shift in the Middle East: Turkey has filled the vacuum left by Tehran, much to the Islamic Republic’s discontent.
Op-eds
Donald Trump: Back to the Future on Iran Policy
Tehran’s theocrats must be terrified. That’s a good thing. Despite the limited and lackluster commentary on Donald Trump’s electoral victory in the Iranian press and by officials, regime elites must now face the fact that the candidate they sought to kill is set to re-assume the presidency on January 20, 2025.
Op-eds
Turkey’s President Threatens Military Action Against Israel
Latest Developments Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened military action against Israel on July 28, a day after 12 children in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams were killed by a rocket...
Flash Briefs
Armenia Unilaterally Recognizes Palestinian State
Armenia became the latest United Nations (UN) member state to unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood on June 21. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “has...
Flash Briefs
Iranian President’s Helicopter Crashes, Condition Unknown
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed in Iran on May 19. Iranian personnel are still searching for the aircraft,...
Flash Briefs
Iranian Proxies Wreak Havoc Beyond the Middle East
Azerbaijan and Pakistan are two lesser known victims of Iranian proxy attacks.
Op-eds
The Azerbaijanis, Not the Azeris, Are Hosting COP29
The Republic of Azerbaijan will host the annual UN Climate Change Conference known as COP29 in November 2024. For many who will attend COP29 and follow the process, this will be their first...
Op-eds
Mossad Operation in Iran Nets Terror Plot Leader
Israel’s Mossad revealed on June 29 that a detailed confession by a leader of an Iranian terrorist cell helped authorities in Cyprus dismantle a cell plotting to attack Israeli and Jewish targets....
Flash Briefs
President Aliyev: “Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are at the Lowest Level Ever”
From day one of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran has been hostile toward Baku and consistently acted to undermine its security and independence. However, over the last year the ties...
Op-eds
Iran’s Slow Boil
The clerical regime in Tehran has held the streets. It remains to be seen, however, if the strategies employed to keep the ayatollahs afloat will prevail. When Mahsa Amini, a young Sunni Kurdish-Iranian girl, died on September 16 in the custody of the morality police, nationwide demonstrations erupted, often with young women and girls on the frontlines.
Op-eds
The Iranian theocracy’s downfall is a goal worth working toward
Fate is sometimes kind to America. Such merciful intervention happened last summer when Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, rejected the Biden administration’s effort to revive former President Barack...
Op-eds
Iran Caught Again Trying to Kill Israeli Civilians Abroad
Georgia’s state security announced last Tuesday the arrest of a Pakistani national affiliated with al-Qaeda and of two Iranian nationals who attempted to murder a prominent Israeli in the capital of Tbilisi. An Israeli media report, citing an unnamed Israeli security official, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force orchestrated the assassination attempt, which sought to target Israeli-Georgian businessman Itzik Moshe. Georgian security alleged the would-be attacker received weapons from Iranian citizens living in the country via drop-offs and hideouts.
Flash Briefs
Israel’s Role in the Second Armenia-Azerbaijan War and Its Implications for the Future
Excerpt For a quarter of a century, Israel and Azerbaijan have maintained deep strategic cooperation that touches on national security issues of the highest importance to both sides. The defense relationship...
Op-eds
Iran’s policy toward the Caucasus and Central Asia
Excerpt Much of the analysis on Iranian foreign policy focuses on both Iran’s positonality in relation to the Middle East, and its claim to the mantle of Shia Islamic leadership. However, a more detailed...
Op-eds
The Israeli Moment
If anyone is going to derail the Islamic Republic’s regional ambitions, Israel is really the only local counterweight that counts.