America’s relationship with Turkey deteriorated sharply early this month, when Washington gave Ankara a deadline of 31 July to cancel its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system or face having its participation in …
During a recent visit to Tajikistan, Russian Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov claimed that around 5,000 militants based in Afghanistan from a group known as Islamic State Khorasan, or IS-K, had been redeployed to …
The dramatic escalation of tensions between the US and Iran over the past few weeks has significantly changed the dynamic of Washington’s approach to Tehran, increasing the likelihood of military confrontation between the two countries. …
The Second Belt and Road Forum, which ran from 25 to 27 April in Beijing, showcased China’s progress with its Belt and Road Initiative and also demonstrated the country’s increasing global economic and political influence. …
On 22 March, the US announced a fresh round of sanctions against Iran targeting 14 individuals and 17 entities linked to Iran’s defence research organisation, SPND. Washington accused Tehran of keeping key nuclear scientists together …
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s comments in early January on reunification with Taiwan, which he categorised as unavoidable, certainly prompted vigorous discussion. Much of it has focused on the value of the strategic ambiguity surrounding the …
France’s last-minute compromise with Germany on a proposal to bring the Nord Stream 2 project fully under EU energy regulations—potentially fatal to the project—will likely ensure that the controversial project will be completed. France had …
It’s tempting to view the recent confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian naval vessels in the Sea of Azov—in which Russia denied Ukrainian vessels access to the Strait of Kerch and the Ukrainian city of Mariupol—as …
Much has been written about Russia’s ambitions in Syria and the Middle East, and there are numerous elements to Moscow’s strategy in the region. President Vladimir Putin has made clear his desire to restore Russia …
The Iranian government was quick to blame the 22 September attack targeting an Iranian Revolutionary Guard parade on the US and unnamed countries in the region. While this attribution fits with the paranoid world view …
The mid-August standoff between Hui Muslims and Chinese officials seeking to demolish the new Weizhou Grand Mosque in Ningxia may not have garnered the same global attention as the mass internment of Uyghur and Kazakh …
Iran, like much of the Middle East and North Africa, faces a future of extreme weather and drought. Researchers have estimated that temperatures across the region are rising twice as fast as the global average. …