After the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with Beijing in April, Kiribati may be considering a similar deal. In April, China signed an unprecedented security pact with the Solomon Islands, sparking regional concerns of a future Chinese military presence there. China’s pursuit of greater military reach in the Pacific …
Read More »Russia’s Ukraine War Has Narrowed — But Not its Goals
Putin remains fixed on erasing Ukraine. Ideas for peace talks can’t ignore that. Russia’s Ukraine war, launched in February along the 350 miles from Belarus to the Black Sea, has largely narrowed these weeks to a 45-mile-wide assault on cities in the Donbas region. This and other signals may suggest …
Read More »How Putin’s Flawed Assumptions Doomed Russian Victory in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine seems to be entering a transitional phase. Early on, Russia failed in its effort to take Kyiv—so Russian President Vladimir Putin scaled back his ambitions and shifted his military’s efforts to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. As both sides battle it out there, exhaustion and …
Read More »UK spy chief says he doesn’t think Iran supreme leader wants to reach nuclear deal
‘The deal is absolutely on the table but I don’t think the Iranians want it,’ MI6 director tells security forum; CIA chief says Tehran’s advance toward atomic bomb is ‘troubling’ Britain’s spy chief voiced doubt Thursday on reviving a landmark 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, saying Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali …
Read More »Iran says it seeks nuclear deal guarantees so as ‘not to be stung twice’
‘The Americans must accept some commitments. We do not want an agreement at any price,’ Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Iran is seeking economic guarantees from the US to revive a long-stalled 2015 nuclear deal so as “not to be stung twice” the same way, its foreign minister said. The agreement, formally …
Read More »UN nuclear chief: Iran’s program advancing at a gallop, we have little visibility
Rafael Grossi says project ‘has grown enormously, far beyond what it was in 2015,’ as Tehran creates new difficulties and negotiations remains stalled The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Friday that Iran’s nuclear program “is advancing at a gallop and we have very little visibility.” Speaking to …
Read More »Kremlinology and the Great Power Competition
While speculation around the potential demise of Putin’s regime is understandable, it is more helpful to consider the ‘so what’ of who comes next. Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, speculation has swirled about the Russian leadership. One common theme is the supposedly shrinking circle of people around Vladimir …
Read More »Towards a Regional Code of Conduct for Missiles in the Middle East
With missile stockpiles edging up across the Middle East, there is a clear need to develop a regional code for their acceptable use. The Middle East is entering a new missile age. More regional states are either developing indigenous production capabilities or importing missiles than ever before. Currently, 11 states …
Read More »Friends with Benefits: Iran and Russia after the Ukraine Invasion
Despite speculation around Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent trip to Tehran, Russia–Iran relations remain firmly transactional. President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Tehran, coupled with intelligence released by the US about Iran’s provision of armed drones to Russia, has renewed speculation that the relationship between the two might finally be …
Read More »The Russia–China Alliance versus the West: What about the Rest?
As evidence mounts that the Global South is leaning closer to the Russia–China position over Ukraine, the West needs to think hard about how to regain the initiative in the narrative battle. The Ukraine war has further entrenched and exacerbated the geopolitical rivalry between the West and the Russia–China camp. …
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