February, 2022

• 1 February

  The Nuclear Deal’s Fate Lies in Politics—in the U.S. and Iran

  

  In the four decades since Iran’s Islamic Revolution, relations between Tehran and Washington have seen deep enmity offset by brief periods of rapprochement and tactical cooperation. As a new U.S. administration settles into office and asserts its intent to, in President Joe Biden’s words, “offer Tehran a credible path back …

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• 1 February

  The Taliban’s Comeback Is a Conundrum for Iran

  

  No one in the Iranian government was sad to see U.S. and NATO troops leave Afghanistan. In fact, Tehran would prefer to have the Taliban next-door than often-hostile Western powers. But Shiite-majority Iran has also been a target of attacks in the past from the Sunni Islamist Taliban, and it …

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• 1 February

  Houthi Attacks Could Derail UAE-Iran Diplomacy

  

  A series of deadly explosions in Abu Dhabi, the normally placid capital of the United Arab Emirates, has created a strategic quandary for the UAE government. Its leaders are in the midst of a major diplomatic reinvention, seeking to develop good relations with all of their regional neighbors, including, notably, …

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• 1 February

  There is no NATO open-door policy

  

  In the current crisis involving Russia, Ukraine and Western countries, it is often asserted that because the NATO alliance has an “open-door” policy, Ukraine must retain its right to join the alliance someday. That is incorrect. While Russia should not be allowed to veto Ukraine’s hypothetical membership in NATO, there …

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• 1 February

  Parsing the Evidence: Will Russia Invade Ukraine?

  

  This week, with Washington rejecting two of Moscow’s three key security demands, Russian military equipment massing near the border with Ukraine and NATO “prepared for the worst,” the question dominating global affairs remains: Will Russia invade Ukraine? The White House answer is a qualified yes, the Kremlin’s a qualified no. …

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• 1 February

  US military drills with Pacific allies send a message to China, expert says

  

  Military exercises between the United States and its allies in the Western Pacific, both ongoing and upcoming, send a message to China not to pull a “stunt” to distract people at home, according to a New Zealand-based American security expert. The U.S. Air Force is about to launch Cope North, …

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• 1 February

  Russia, US exchange accusations over Ukraine at UN

  

  Russia accused the West on Monday of “whipping up tensions” over Ukraine and said the U.S. had brought “pure Nazis” to power in Kyiv as the U.N. Security Council held a stormy and bellicose debate on Moscow’s troop buildup near its southern neighbor. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield shot back that …

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• 1 February

  ‘Huge ISIS failure’: Detainees in Syria moved to more secure facility after thwarted prison break

  

  Thousands of Islamic State fighters jailed in Syria had to be hustled to a more secure facility in the midst of a 10-day prison siege by the militants aimed at freeing them, according to U.S. officials. On Sunday, the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces announced that they had retaken the al-Sinaa …

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• 1 February

  US forces in Europe could be deployed to Eastern Europe soon as Russia-NATO tensions increase, Pentagon says

  

  Some U.S. troops in Europe could be moved to NATO countries farther east on the Continent as Russia continued to amass forces over the weekend in Belarus and along its border with Ukraine, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday. President Joe Biden said Friday night that he soon intends …

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• 1 February

  Russia Has Been Warning About Ukraine for Decades. The West Should Have Listened

  hen I was a journalist for The Times (London) in Moscow in December 1992, I saw a print-out of a speech by the then Russian foreign minister, Andrei Kozyrev, warning that if the West continued to attack vital Russian interests and ignore Russian protests, there would one day be a …

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