Iran

Isolated by the West, Russia and Iran are looking to ease sanctions pressure by forging a new economic corridorthat boosts bilateral trade and connects them with fast-growing India – but the project’s effectiveness could yet be undermined by sanctions as well as logistical challenges and geopolitical tensions. The International North-South …

The 164 km Rasht-Astara railway route in Iran’s Gilan Province is of great importance in the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), because it is the only remaining rail part of this corridor, writes Valdai Club expert Vali Kaleji. In his article, Dr. Vali Kaleji, a Tehran-based expert on Central Asia …

The CIA director met the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and reportedly expressed displeasure with Washington being “blindsided” over agreements brokered by China and Russia. CIA Director Bill Burns made an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia this week where he reportedly aired Washington’s frustrations over Riyadh’s opening to Iran …

The Biden Administration has created a vacuum of leadership on the global stage. If the US further pulls out of Asia, the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, Ukraine, Latin America — anywhere — the vacuum created will surely be filled by the new axis of China-Russia-Iran. A US pull-out is, most …

Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers met in Beijing on Thursday as China’s role expands in the Middle East. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian described a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Beijing on Thursday as constructive, in their bid to find a path toward reconciliation following …

An agreement that was inked with Russia for constructing Iran’s Rasht-Astara mega railway project will be finalized next month. Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development for Construction and Development of Railways, Ports and Airports Affairs Abbas Khatibi made the remarks on Wednesday and stated that talks are underway with …

Relations between Tehran and Baku have long had their ups and downs, but a recent series of events in late March, including the opening of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tel Aviv, an assassination attempt against an Azerbaijani MP in Baku, and the Azerbaijani government’s harsh denunciation of comments …

Iranian official dismisses talk of a “less for less” deal as “the outcome of some think tank brainstorming.” The latest signs indicate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran doesn’t have much of a pulse. The Biden administration says the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not on the agenda. …

It would be wrong to view the restoration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran as something that happened suddenly. Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, ties between the two important Muslim neighbours have been strained. For the Saudi elite the Revolution was not only anti-monarchical but also a boost …

The silence from Iran is deafening. Judging by social media reactions and media reports from Iran, few, if any, members of the Iranian public seem to care that, since 2011, the Israeli air force has attacked Iranian and Iranian-affiliated positions in Syria on more than a thousand occasions. More surprisingly, …