Riyadh and Tehran are rivals on almost everything, but they are both supporting Russia’s war effort to give Washington a black eye. As Russia’s aggression against Ukraine intensifies, two Middle Eastern powers that are usually on opposite sides in most conflicts are aiding Moscow. Iran is reportedly delivering weapons, namely …

Despite the warning, the protests swelled, and faced an escalation in violent police raids on funerals, campuses and dormitories. As anti-government unrest entered a seventh week in Iran, the commander of the country’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned protesters to go home.

Iran’s judiciary chief is the latest official to call for an end to protests. The latest Iranian official to call for an end to the protests in Iran is Judiciary Chief Justice Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei. During a speech today amongst judiciary officials, Mohseni Ejei referred to the protests as …

Israeli defense chief stressed stability in the Eastern Mediterranean during his landmark visit to Ankara amid lingering tensions between Turkey and Greece. Turkey and Israel agreed to enhance “formal defense ties” during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Turkey visit, which he described as “historic.” Gantz met with Turkish President Recep …

Ankara’s new deals with one of Libya’s rival premiers have inflamed the country’s internal rows, bringing the north African nation closer to acquiring armed drones. Ankara’s new military deals with Tripoli show how it uses Libya’s internal rifts to make strategic gains. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Abdul Hamid …

Sweden’s steps to gain Erdogan’s approval appear not to have “cut the ice” thus far. Ankara has accused Sweden yet again of failing to fulfill its commitments under a trilateral memorandum signed in June together with Finland, whereby Turkey would ratify the Nordic countries’ memberships into NATO if they addressed …

Forty days in and the protests that have rocked Iran since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the regime’s notorious morality police show no sign of abating, yet experts remain divided over whether the movement can achieve real change. Multiple waves of anti-government protest have rocked …

Liquidity is a key measure of how well financial markets are working. It refers to how easily assets can be bought or sold—and when it dries up, it can be disruptive. After more than a decade of abundant liquidity and relative calm in markets, central bank interest-rate increases to contain …

During a parade in Baku in December 2020 marking Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recited an Azerbaijani poem that caught the attention of Iran. The poem, titled “Gulustan,” speaks of sadness resulting from the fact that the Aras River divides the ethnically Azerbaijani …

Researchers at the Institute for World Economy IfW Kiel and DIW Berlinhave analysed the economic impact of jointly implementing punitive measures in the context of the 2012 Iran and 2014 Russia sanctions. They find that coalitions serve two crucial purposes—they not only magnify the economic cost imposed on the target …