Recent Posts

Next phase of China-Iran ties depends on nuclear talks

Iran and China’s long-term strategic partnership awaits any new outcome of the JCPOA. In a highly symbolic move, the Iranian Council of Ministers recently approved the opening of a Chinese consulate at Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main trading port and the capital of the coastal province of Hormozgan. While Tehran currently …

Read More »

Qatar agrees with Taliban on resuming Afghanistan evacuations

Qatar was bestowed the status of major non-NATO US ally by President Joe Biden yesterday. Qatar’s government has reached a deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan to resume evacuation flights from Kabul’s airport after a months-long halt, Qatar’s foreign minister said yesterday. The agreement allows for two flights per week …

Read More »

Russia Gains Much From Threats to Invade Ukraine, But Knows That Actually Doing So Would be a Disaster

The essence of the crisis in Ukraine is that Russia can gain many benefits from its unspoken threat to invade, but none at all from actually doing so. “Russia will keep piling on the pressure,” a veteran analyst of Ukrainian affairs, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me. “But I …

Read More »