Tehran’s diplomatic persistence has yielded a second major breakthrough this year: Securing full BRICS membership to dismantle isolation, navigate sanctions, and bolster political and economic influence with Eurasian power centers. In his address at the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg on 24 August, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi highlighted his country’s …

By adding two new African member-states to its roster, last week’s summit in Johannesburg heralding the expanded BRICS 11 showed once again that Eurasian integration is inextricably linked to the integration of Afro-Eurasia. Belarus is now proposing to hold a joint summit between BRICS 11, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), …

In his memoirs, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalls a significant event from 2013 when then-US Secretary of State John Kerry proposed a secret visit to Afghanistan to see US-trained forces: “Bibi, I want to arrange a clandestine visit for you to Afghanistan. You’ll see with your own eyes what …