His possible appointment does not bode well for bridging the gap between Tehran and the West over a range of political issues—perhaps most crucially, Iran's nuclear programme
His recent appointment as a national security advisor adds to the trend of more pragmatic sections of the establishment—who advocate negotiating with the West—coming to the fore
The Zangezur Corridor, a route through Armenia linking Azerbaijan and Türkiye, will be built and managed by Americans and will pass along the Iranian border, creating winners and losers
Baghdad wants good relations with Washington, but its ties with Tehran run deep. Under increased pressure, it may have to pick a side once and for all.
A pressure campaign by Washington to curb Tehran's influence over Baghdad seems to be yielding results, but any moves to disarm Iran-allied militias could stoke serious violence
Washington's long-term strategy to unshackle Iraq from Iranian influence is yielding results. Having pulled a potent mix of financial and military levers, the militias have been eerily quiet of late.
US President Donald Trump agreed a ceasefire in early May on the condition that the Houthis do not attack American ships. Good to their word, they are still attacking others, with no comeuppance.
Arming proxies and launching pre-emptive strikes was Iran's 'forward strategy' model since the devastating Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88. Then, from October 2023, Israel copied it. A recipe for disaster?
Syria seeks balance and protection; Russia wants permanence and influence. These issues were surely discussed when Sharaa met Putin in Moscow last week.
Her task will be to balance the country's security imperatives with American expectations regarding burden-sharing, defence spending, and economic cooperation
The army and the RSF rely on the assets at their disposal to sustain governance and fund their war efforts, while trying to win over the international community by seizing larger swathes of Sudan