Eurasia

US sets up fund that could transfer frozen assets to Afghanistan

Washington is to set up a new fund that could eventually serve as a mechanism to free up Afghanistan’s frozen assets in order to promote economic stability in the country, senior US officials told CNN. According to the officials, the Biden administration has worked with Switzerland and Afghan economists to …

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Conflict Risks Update

Armenia Azerbaijan launched military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) ahead of high-level meetings in Brussels and Moscow; opposition announced return to parliament after five-month boycott. After weeks of relative calm in NK, clashes erupted early Aug between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces answering to de facto authorities in NK, with Baku 3 …

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US Price Increases Persist Despite Supply Chain Progress – Analysis

The overall Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent in August, core was up 0.6 percent; up 8.3 percent and 6.3 percent year-over-year, respectively. Overall, the picture shows inflation persisting in a wide variety of areas where it seems that supply chain issues are being overcome. This is not a good …

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Blinken Says Revival of Iran Nuclear Deal Soon Is ‘Unlikely’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a revived nuclear deal with Iran in the near future is “unlikely,” based on Iran’s response to the European Union’s most recent proposal for reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. “What we’ve seen over the last week or …

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Jared Kushner Says 6 Other Muslim-Majority Countries Discussed Joining Abraham Accords

Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who is also the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, criticized the Biden administration for failing to get other countries to sign on to the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

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The Revenge of Muqtada al-Sadr

Why Iran Could Be the Real Loser in Iraq’s Intra-Shiite Struggle On August 29, the Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he would withdraw from politics after months of failed attempts to form a new government. Thousands of supporters of the nationalist leader, who has emerged as a staunch …

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Poland’s Evolving Violent Far-Right Landscape

Abstract: Since the fall of communism in 1989, violent far-right actors in Poland have not committed a mass-casualty attack in the country. But this fact belies the relevance of this Central European country of 38 million people as both a source of and destination for violent far-right groups. Along with …

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The Islamic State Crime-Terror Nexus in the United States: Developments and Wider Relevance

Abstract: Among the United States’ 237 Islamic State-linked federal cases to date, the nexus between crime and terrorism has a subtle but vital impact on law enforcement’s counterterrorism efforts, and provides both challenges and opportunities. Drawing from new and old cases, this article examines the criminal history of every federal …

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Israeli spy chief warns Iran deal won’t give Iran ‘immunity from Mossad’

The comments by the Mossad chief reaffirmed Israel’s “octopus head” policy adopted by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. “Even if a nuclear deal is signed, it will not give Iran immunity from Mossad operations. We won’t take part in this charade and we don’t close our eyes to the proven …

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Ukraine says it shot down Iranian drone in Kharkiv

Photos posted online by Kyiv appear to confirm the Pentagon’s claim that Iran has delivered armed drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Ukraine’s military reported Tuesday that it had destroyed an Iranian drone used by Russian forces near Kharkiv. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry published photos of what it said …

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