Central Asia

Trump’s Russia Sanctions Toolkit

Options to Increase Leverage to End Putin’s War Against Ukraine

Crossroads of Competition

China in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands

From Afghanistan to America: the rising reach of the Islamic State Khorasan Province

Four years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the threat posed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has expanded beyond the region, now endangering both American and European soil.

U.S. Should Rescind Sanctions Waiver for Iranian Port at Chabahar

Donald Trump has reignited Washington’s economic war on Tehran, and New Delhi is now caught in the crossfire. India signed a 10-year deal in 2024 to develop and operate the port of Chabahar on Iran’s...

Pakistani and Tajik Taliban open training camps in Afghanistan

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat Ansarullah (JA) have established training camps in Afghanistan with support from Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported.

The Hidden Renewable Energy in Central Asia

One of the biggest threats to human health, and a major source of air pollution, is regularly hidden in statistical reports as “renewable energy:” the burning of dung, wood, and lump coal. While most...

Europe’s Nuclear Energy and Central Asian Uranium

The drive toward electrification coupled with the political decision to reduce fossil fuel consumption is creating a situation where, by necessity, there is renewed interest in  nuclear energy. In...

Central Asia in the Energy Transition

Excerpt The Central Asian region, in terms of energy, has long been known mostly for its vast endowments of oil and gas. Indeed, some of the largest new discoveries of oil anywhere in the world in the...

China Retaliates Against U.S. Semiconductor Restrictions by Banning Critical Mineral Exports

In the latest sign of its growing efforts to cut off American access to crucial inputs for advanced technologies, China introduced new export controls on several critical minerals used in both civilian...

Iran deepens Central Asia ties amid shift away from western economies

The talks with Central Asian states come after a recent BRICS meeting that Iran attended.

Iran Is Using Foreign Islamic Centers to Spread Terror and Hatred; the World Must Close Them

Last month, Germany announced that it would deport Mohammed Mofatteh, the former director of Hamburg’s Shi’a Islamic Center, which local authorities had ordered shut down five weeks earlier for propagating extremism, and for its financial links to Hezbollah. ...

Iran’s president backs Palestinians amid spats with UK, Australia

Iranian state media characterized this as support for more “resistance.”

Hamas is demanding the Philadelphi Corridor for a reason

It stands to reason that the control of the border was a key ingredient in Hamas’ strength and this is why it wants it back.

Deterring Iran’s Dash to the Bomb

Jihadis mount prison mutinies across Africa

Over the last few days, jihadis have mounted two attacks inside prisons in Somalia and Niger. While the mutiny inside the Nigerien prison was successful, the Somali prison assault appears to have been...

Cognitive Combat

China, Russia, and Iran’s Information War Against Americans

Turkish charity leaders meet with Taliban officials

On June 13, representatives from two Turkish charities met with Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, in Afghanistan. Mehmet Ubeyd Kosger, representing the Hayrat Foundation, accompanied...

Islamic State operatives arrested after illegally crossing the US border

On June 11, eight Tajik nationals with ties to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), the terrorist group’s branch in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, were arrested in New York,...

ISKP’s transnational reemergence

By leveraging its stronghold in Afghanistan, in conjunction with its networks in Central and South Asia, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is reemerging as a transnational actor with the capacity...

U.S. Should Revoke Chabahar’s Sanctions Waiver

India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) and the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran signed a 10-year deal on May 13 that allows New Delhi to develop and operate the Iranian port of Chabahar. Washington issued...