RIAC: The World in 2035: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

By Zhao Huasheng & Andrey Kortunov. The first quarter of the century is elapsing. With every passing year it becomes less and less appropriate to argue that we still live in the very beginning of the new millennium. Very soon the humankind will enter the second quarter of the XXI century. It’s high time to

Responsible Statecraft: Is it a Mystery? Where Trump stands on Israel-Gaza war

By James Carden & Kelley Beaucar Vlahos. His past record and ‘finish it up’ comments today suggest a hard line, though he leaves just a sliver of ambiguity Concerning the Israeli war in Gaza, former President Donald J. Trump is making headlines again, telling Fox News that “you have to finish it up and do

RT: What’s behind the sudden US goodwill towards Iran?

By Robert Inlakesh. In what proved to be a domestically controversial move, the US government approved the release of five prisoners held in Iran in return for releasing five Iranian detainees and billions of previously frozen assets. However, in the aftermath of the agreement between Tehran and Washington, the White House’s primary focus seems to be centered around

Responsible Statecraft: Beware the Iranian boogeyman following Israeli leaders to Washington

By Paul R. Pillar. Isaac Herzog isn’t as despised as Bibi Netanyahu, but we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking US interests line up with his rhetoric. The presidency of Israel is a largely ceremonial job, although most of the occupants of that position have been experienced politicians who have weighed in on policy problems of

Vivekananda: West Asia and North Africa Review 2022

By Hirak Jyoti Das. Responses to the Russia-Ukraine War The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war drew mixed responses among the West Asian and North African states based on their national interests and strategic objectives. Most states in the region do not necessarily view Russia as a threat. Russia over the years has emerged as a normal extra-regional

Responsible Statecraft: China dips toes in the Gulf, puts Iran on the defensive

By Sina Azodi. Beijing and Iran always had ‘convenient’ relations, but the former’s visit to Saudi Arabia exposed some new limits. China’s president Xi recently wrapped up a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi officials, including Crown Prince Mohmmad Bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom. During the trip,

Responsible Statecraft: Bibi is back and providing fresh political land mines for US

By Steven Simon. Critics want Biden to cut off ties with members of Israel’s new far-right government. But is he in any position to do that? Benjamin Netanyahu, already Israel’s longest serving prime minister, is back. His coalition won 64 out of 120 seats in the Knesset, a smashing victory in an era when governments

Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik: Turkish and Iranian Involvement in Iraq and Syria

By Hamidreza Azizi and Salim Çevik. Competing strategies, rising threat perceptions, and potentials for conflict It has become cliché to argue that Turkish-Iranian relations oscillate between a con­trolled rivalry and limited cooperation. However, in Iraq and Syria, rising tensions between Turkey and Turkey-affiliated groups on the one hand and Iran and Iran-backed groups on the

Asharq Al-Awsat: Why is Tehran Beating the War Drum?

By Amir Taheri. In Iranian mythology, partly reflected in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, the national epic, the advice given to young men who aspire to become great warriors is to never reveal their strategy and avoid boastful talk. Rustam, Gudarz, Geeve, Bahman and other heroes of Iranian epic are never seen spilling the beans about war plans

The Hill: In Lebanon, the next six months will shape the next six years

By Edward Gabriel and Paul Salem. Lebanon is suffering in the throes of one of the largest economic collapses of modern times as it struggles to recover from a disastrous peacetime blast that devastated the Beirut port and whole neighborhoods in August 2020. Presidential elections in the fall could influence the course of the country