The gas corridor sanctions forgot: Tehran’s quiet expansion into Turkey
While everyone focuses on tankers transferring the Iranian oil, a massive financial valve remains open to Tehran on NATO’s eastern border. On paper, Iran is entering its most...
Turkmenistan
New LNG Terminal Will Help Extricate Iraq From Iran’s Energy Orbit
Iraq is slowly taking steps to wrench its energy sector free from Iran’s influence, but it will require both American support and strong encouragement to do so. Excelerate Energy, an American company,...
Policy Briefs
Qatar’s Calculated Bet on the Islamic Republic
Qatar’s wealth and prestige are built on the incompetence of the rulers of Iran’s Islamic Republic. As long as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his gang of fools are in charge in Tehran, Doha...
Op-eds
Beyond the Bomb: Is Iran’s Diplomatic Pivot Changing Its Nuclear Calculus?
Iran is facing crunch time on its continued talks with the United States over a potential new deal regarding its nuclear program. Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi said on June 4...
Op-eds
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
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.
Op-eds
Iran’s Energy Crisis
Iran is experiencing a systemic energy crisis. While many times in the past, Iran has had gas shortages or refined product shortages, this time Iran is undergoing an energy meltdown, with parallel shortages...
Op-eds
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...
Op-eds
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.
Op-eds
The Russia-Iran axis is transforming the nature of Middle East danger
Russia’s siding with Iran will make it harder for peace to be achieved in Lebanon, or for a ceasefire to be achieved on the multiple fronts that Israel is facing
Op-eds
Presidents of Iran and Russia Tout Growing Ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian touted growing ties between the two countries on October 11 as they met in person for the first time in person...
Flash Briefs
Awaiting Israel’s strike, Tehran pushes propaganda to cushion the blow
“Lethal, precise and especially surprising.” That’s how Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant framed Israel’s impending military response to the Islamic Republic’s overt and...
Op-eds
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...
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
Israel Opens First Permanent Embassy in Turkmenistan
Latest Developments Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen inaugurated Israel’s first embassy in Turkmenistan during a visit to the Central Asian state on April 20. Cohen is the first Israeli foreign...
Flash Briefs
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
Engines of Influence
Turkey’s Defense Industry Under Erdogan
Memos
After fall of Kabul, resistance to Taliban emerges in Panjshir
The Taliban’s lightning offensive, which began immediately after President Joe Biden’s announcement of withdrawal on April 14, 2021, has resulted in a near total takeover of Afghanistan. However, resistance...
Op-eds
The Situation in Afghanistan Is Much Worse Than You Realize
The U.S. military is downplaying the Taliban’s gains, and the U.S. and U.N. are pretending there is a viable peace process.
Op-eds
Iran Is More Than Persia
Ethnic Politics in the Islamic Republic