Executive summary In his article, Dr. Vali Kaleji, a Tehran-based expert on Central Asia and Caucasian Studies, postulates that banking and financial relations between Iran and Russia have developed significantly in recent years, which is unprecedented in the history of relations between the two countries. It seems that four factors …

Protests in support of both Israel or Palestine have been held in cities across the Balkans and Central Europe, highlighting divisions over the recent bloody events in the Middle East and who is to blame.Balkan and Central European countries saw protests in support of both Israel and Palestine over the …

The three neighbours have announced tougher border controls in response to security threats and fears of terrorism related to the Middle East conflict. Italy announced that it would restore border controls with Slovenia on Saturday. Following this, Slovenia informed Croatia that it would do the same. Slovenia would introduce surveillance …

The failure of the U.S. intelligence community has three components: 1) It has become politically charged and lost focus on its mission protecting Americans, instead engaging in partisan politics. 2) It continues to focus on technological intelligence collection rather than the difficult and risky world of human intelligence collection. 3) …

Iran warns that any Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip could expand the scope of the conflict elsewhere in the Middle East. Iran has warned Israel of regional escalation if the Israeli military enters Gaza for a ground invasion as the war with Hamas enters its second week. “If …

Thousands of people have moved to southern Gaza after the order, but others say there is no place safe from Israel’s bombings and that they would rather die at home. Ahmed al-Saadi and his family have so far escaped the Israeli bombing campaign that has levelled entire neighbourhoods and killed …

Let us start where we must: I do not support violence. I am not here to support or condemn anything, certainly not anything violent. Commentators, especially Western ones, are far too generous with their supports and condemnations. Analysis is difficult enough without peppering it with pompous gestures. And you didn’t …

The southern sector: Israeli Air Force airstrikes on terrorist targets in the Gaza Stripcontinued, destroying several terrorist facilities, mainly belonging to Hamas. Meanwhile, thePalestinian terrorist organizations continue firing rockets at Israel, although at a relatively lowpace. So far, more than 7,500 rockets have been fired at Israel. Several hundred launchesfell …

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned Israel that the Middle East could spiral out of control if it does not stop strikes on Gaza. He said the US was also “to blame” for providing military support to Israel. Hours later, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned troops his people were …

The conflict has become an outlet for our tribalism In the wake of Hamas’s bloody and murderous raid into Israel, as Israeli jets pulverise the Gaza Strip in advance of its looming punitive expedition, the Western discourse surrounding the century-old conflict feels both novel and wearily familiar. Familiar in that …