... completely dismantled. Azerbaijan became the second state after Russia to integrate the secessionist territory, although the mode of how Karabakh and Chechnya got incorporated significantly
differ
.
The change in the status quo also contributed to Iran’s notable invigoration. Two Eurasian giants, China and India, have also adopted a higher profile in the Caucasus. With the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S., the EU (and France in particular) along with ...
... October 7: Any Odds of Success?
In the expert community, the autonomy and authenticity of the Houthi ideology and socio-political movement with deep Yemeni roots are generally not in doubt. The Houthi were not and are not “agents” or “proxies” of Iran, despite their growing cooperation in recent years. In the Houthi movement, as was correctly noted by the well-known orientalist B. Haykel, the influence of not only Shiite but also Sunni currents of modern political Islam, as well as secular ideologies,...
... circumstances, political and economic trends in the Middle East require a degree of theoretical conceptualization. The authors of this report analyze the current political and economic trends in the region’s Arab countries and non-Arab states, including Iran, Turkey, and Israel. Additionally, the authors examine key foreign policy trends in Middle Eastern states.
Regional Trends in the Middle East: Political and Economic Dynamics
, 1.1 Mb
How Tehran Differs from Other Regional Players
Last Sunday, February 11, Iran celebrated the 45
th
anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Celebratory rallies were held in over 1,400 towns and 35,000 villages across the country. In Tehran, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi spoke to the participants of the festive processions....
... be an overstatement to say that a lot of what is happening now would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago.
The greatest of these changes is the China-mediated rapprochement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Given that these countries are regional “centers of power”, their new and improved relations may help reduce regional tensions in certain countries like Yemen.
Another significant factor that is driving the shifts in Middle Eastern state alignments ...
China has effectively coped with its role of facilitator, but now the country will have to enforce the agreements reached
In March 2023, seven years after diplomatic relations were severed, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) have agreed to reopen their embassies. This decision opens up the possibility of reducing tensions in the Gulf and, in the long term, in the entire region of the Middle East. Notably, both sides have stated the need to respect sovereignty, ...
Agreeing to symbolic, if politically painful concessions, might be the only way for the U.S. to make sure Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon
Biden’s inauguration as the 46
th
President of the United States promised not only a shift in U.S. domestic policies but also a return to Obama’s chapter in Washington’s foreign strategy. Biden’s victory ...
... rather than on foreign adversaries
Last week, CNBC published an op-ed piece by Frederick Kempe, a prominent US analyst and journalist. The author argues that in 2022 the US will have to focus on confronting the challenges coming from China, Russia and Iran. He suggests that these three nations will likely try to make use of the perceived US foreign policy weakness, which the recent American withdrawal from Afghanistan demonstrated in the most explicit way. Frederick Kempe also suggests that there is ...
... such as what Israel presently aims for, so long as it is stable and sustainable
This author published an
analysis
in
The Tehran Times
in December 2020, part of which assessed how China would factor into Israel’s Middle East-wide conflict with Iran.
The analysis forecast an Israeli strategy to engineer an overlap between China’s Middle East security vision and its own as regards Iran. This strategy would entail considerable tactical and diplomatic maneuvering to persuade Beijing, which upholds ...
... Affairs Council (RIAC)
Discussion points:
Causes for previous failures to build a regional security
Ways to facilitate talks in post-JCPOA era
Changes and role of Russian policy in the Persian Gulf
Biden administration policies and its influence on Saudi-Iranian talks. Impacts of Iran’s presidential elections on regional talks
Working language: English.
June 28, 2021, 15:00 GMT+3
The event will be streamed online via RIAC website, YouTube channel, and RIAC page on Facebook. Please, leave your questions ...