At the recent Commonwealth for Independent States (CIS) summit held on October 14 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon expressed previously inconceivable remarks. His public admonishment of Russian President Vladimir Putin to treat Central Asian states with more respect showed the growing confidence of Central Asian leaders amid Russia’s …
Read More »Russia Ready to Allow Iranian Ships Access to the Volga River and Volga-Don Canal
By strengthening alternative transit corridors, Moscow hopes to counter tightening Western economic sanctions and transit restrictions adopted in response to Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine. One of the most important prospects for Russia in this regard is to strengthen shipping and transit cooperation with Iran in the Caspian Sea. To …
Read More »Putin’s Fear of Retreat
How the Cuban Missile Crisis Haunts the Kremlin Sixty years ago, the White House and the Kremlin peacefully resolved the most dangerous nuclear crisis of the modern era. Neither superpower had wanted the dispute over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba to end in war, but both sides threatened …
Read More »Russia’s Road to Economic Ruin
The Long-Term Costs of the Ukraine War Will Be Staggering After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Russian economy seemed destined for a nosedive. International sanctions threatened to strangle the economy, leading to a plunge in the value of the ruble and Russian financial markets. Everyday Russians appeared poised …
Read More »The Return of Red China
Xi Jinping Brings Back Marxism In 1978, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping announced that his country would make a break with the past. After decades of political purges, economic autarky, and suffocating social control under Mao Zedong, Deng began stabilizing Chinese politics, removing bans on private enterprise and foreign investment and …
Read More »Putin’s Fear of Retreat
How the Cuban Missile Crisis Haunts the Kremlin Sixty years ago, the White House and the Kremlin peacefully resolved the most dangerous nuclear crisis of the modern era. Neither superpower had wanted the dispute over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba to end in war, but both sides threatened …
Read More »Iran says attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan will continue
Tehran vows to continue targeting Iraq’s Kurdistan region until the Iranian Kurdish opposition leave the area permanently. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has close links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced today that the attacks on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan will continue until these groups …
Read More »Businesses shut down as Iran protests enter third month
Iranian shops are closing up in waves amid the continuing nationwide protests. Iran was hit with widespread business strikes on Thursday in support of anti-government protests that were entering a third month. Over the past week, and despite severe internet disruptions and rigorous controls, campaigners have urged civil disobedience on the anniversary …
Read More »Algeria forces Russia to make concessions
As the war in Ukraine carries on, the list of problematic issues between Algeria and Moscow is growing. Algeria is actively benefiting from the increased attention to its energy resources from Europe, especially from Italy and France, while at the same time not forgetting to build a counterbalance. On Nov. …
Read More »Ansarallah drone operation targets foreign tanker in Hadhramaut
The operation coincided with the US ambassador’s visit to Hadhramaut province, where he met with officials in the Saudi-backed government On the evening of 9 November, Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement launched a drone attack targeting a foreign oil tanker in the Qina port of Shabwah province’s Radum district, marking the …
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