SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary says Emmanuel Macron intends to reduce or take over the US role in the West Asian region. “Whether France is powerful enough to accomplish this task or whether it has the tools to do so will be decided in the future,” he said.
Strategic Council Online: Turkey believes if Idlib is liberated Ankara’s role in the next political process in Syria will decline and the Syrian government may in future seek to oust Turkish forces from other areas, such as Afrin.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on Middle East affairs said Turkey was in a state of unprecedented strategic confusion, especially in Idlib, adding that if Ankara fails to use these tools and is unable to come out of the strategic confusion in Idlib and gain field achievements there would remain no other way for Erdogan than negotiation.
Strategic Council Online: The presence of US troops in Africa is in line with efforts by Washington and some other Western capitals to create the southern branch of the NATO military alliance.
Jafar Ghanadbashi- Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: A faculty member of the Shahid Beheshti University outlining the most important issues at the Munich Security Conference described the current state of world security as extremely shaky and noted that the Conference could not accomplish any important results.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asia affairs expert said the reading of Russia, Iran and Syria of the Sochi deal appear to be different from what Turkey thinks of the deal. Mr Erdogan is making his own personal interpretation of the Sochi deal, which is tantamount to turning the negotiating table upside down and disturb the rules of the game.
Strategic Council Online: What we have witnessed in the recent widespread operations of the Ansarullah movement and the Yemeni people’s armies against Saudi positions is, on the one hand, an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to admit its military weaknesses inside Yemen, and on the other, an attempt to thwart troublesome and armed moves of mercenary groups seeking to disrupt the situation in Sanaa (the capital of Yemen) and create new insecurity in the region.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Referring to a UN official’s warning against strengthening of terrorists’ positions and efforts to revive ISIS, a West Asian affairs expert said given that Idlib is the last hope for the terrorists and their overseas supporters, the possibility of boosting these terrorist groups exists and therefore the Idlib war will be very difficult to fight.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on geopolitics has said France has failed to adopt appropriate policies on counterterrorism, saying that while Europe’s top concern has been terrorist acts over less than a decade, Mr Macron thinks we are still in the Cold War era and gives the first priority to developing nuclear weapons and to boast them against Russia.
Strategic Council Online: German leaders have decided to spend part of their military budget to deploy military forces to bolster the defense of Germany and Europe, as the best defence for countries is to move their strongholds overseas. That is to say, if a country wants to defend itself, it must also be a military activist in its periphery.
Abdolreza Farajirad – University Professor in Geopolitics
SCFR Online – Opinion: Developments in the South Caucasus and Central Asia indicate that transit competition has become an arena for a new staging of influence among Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The simultaneity of pressure on the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb has turned the geography of energy and shipping into a new arena for the emergence of new risks, costs, and leverage.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Makkah Pact, signed on August 7, 2026, between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, is more than an answer to geopolitical vacuums; in practice, it faces a “deterrence dilemma” and “differing threat perception.” While this pact symbolizes a transition toward regional self-reliance, its first field tests and the complexities of relations with regional actors will determine its real meaning.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The reason for Washington’s reluctance to enter directly into war with Ansarullah is military and economic limitations, electoral considerations, and concern about the expansion of the crisis at two energy chokepoints.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Ansarullah’s recent lightning-fast operation and surprise advances on Yemen’s western coast have rapidly transformed the equations of the war in that country and developments in West Asia, and have challenged the calculations of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the West, and the Israeli regime.