Ankara’s energy preparedness for the winter and its capacity to secure alternative supplies have come under question after a halt in the gas flow from Iran sparked an unprecedented energy crunch in the country. The disruption of Iranian gas supplies to Turkey, blamed on a technical hitch in the pipeline …

In a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, the hard-line former chief negotiator reportedly proposed ramping up enrichment to 90%. Hard-line Iranian politician Saeed Jalili, who led his country’s nuclear negotiations with world powers from 2007 to 2013, has reportedly called for uranium enrichment at a 90% purity rate in Iran’s …

Iran and China’s long-term strategic partnership awaits any new outcome of the JCPOA. In a highly symbolic move, the Iranian Council of Ministers recently approved the opening of a Chinese consulate at Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main trading port and the capital of the coastal province of Hormozgan. While Tehran currently …

Qatar was bestowed the status of major non-NATO US ally by President Joe Biden yesterday. Qatar’s government has reached a deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan to resume evacuation flights from Kabul’s airport after a months-long halt, Qatar’s foreign minister said yesterday. The agreement allows for two flights per week …

The essence of the crisis in Ukraine is that Russia can gain many benefits from its unspoken threat to invade, but none at all from actually doing so. “Russia will keep piling on the pressure,” a veteran analyst of Ukrainian affairs, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me. “But I …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Ukraine on Tuesday as part of diplomatic efforts to deter a possible Russian invasion, urging Moscow to step back from the brink of conflict. Johnson will meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss the tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed in …

President Joe Biden said on Monday (January 31) he plans to designate Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, granting a special status to a key ally in the Middle East. Biden made the announcement as he met Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in the Oval Office. The emir …

31 January 2022 – Following weeks of heightened tensions around Ukraine, with reports that Russia has been deploying more than 100,000 troops and heavy weapons close to its border, the United Nations’ Security Council held its first meeting to discuss ways of de-escalating the crisis on Monday. Addressing ambassadors, the …

U.S.-backed forces in northeastern Syria are warning the latest attempt by the Islamic State terror group to break thousands of its followers out of prison was part of a bigger plot designed to take and hold territory – a capability most Western counterterrorism officials have assessed to be beyond the …

President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have repeatedly warned they will impose swift and punitive economic sanctions against Moscow in the event Vladimir Putin orders an invasion of Ukraine. British ministers announced Sunday they plan new legislation to make it easier to impose sanctions on “Putin’s oligarchs” and Russian …