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: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
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: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
Strategic Council Online: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
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: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
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: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
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: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
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: An American affairs expert, citing the resignation of Dan Coats, US National Intelligence Director and Trump’s tweet on his replacement, said Trump has no fears in dismissing those who stand in his way so the successor of Coats has to make the intelligence community more obedient to Mr Trump.
Strategic Council Online: Commenting on US and European efforts to devise a new security system in the Persian Gulf, an international relations expert says Iran should declare that it is imperative for the issue of oil tankers traffic to be considered on a large international scale and should not be focused on a particular region like the Persian Gulf.
Strategic Council Online: The West, along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are behind General Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan unrest while Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations stand against him and support the legal rule of Fayez al-Sarraj.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – African Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkey, by purchasing S400 missile system, is trying to critically remind the United States of its excessive delay in delivering the Patriot system to Ankara on the one hand, and intends to demonstrate its independence in military decision-making beyond what the US and NATO determine, on the other hand.
Siamak Kakaie – Turkish Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A university lecturer on geopolitics, arguing that the German and French positions on seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker (by Iran) were very wrong, emphasized: “The Europeans have shown that all their talks about INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and the creation of an open economic environment for Iran are unfounded and what they truly seek is to put pressure on Iran to make it surrender.
Strategic Council Online: Given Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and the unilateralist policies Donald Trump pursues without coordinating and cooperating with his European allies, now space and opportunity have been provided for France more than before to pursue more seriously European independent defence arrangements that Paris had in mind before.
Morteza Makki – European Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian Affairs expert, pointing to Saudi efforts to communicate with Yemeni tribal chiefs in order to persuade Ansarullah to reach an agreement on the end of the war, said: The Saudis are looking for a safe and decent way out of the swamp they are stuck in Yemen.
Strategic Council Online: A West Asian affairs analyst commenting on a UAE decision to pull back troops from Yemen, said: “The field equations in Yemen are changing, which shows that there is no possibility for Saudi Arabia and its allies to win the war, which is why the UAE motives in invading Yemen are declining day by day.”
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asia affairs commenting on the UAE decision to withdraw from Yemen and reduce its troops, said: “The UAE, sooner than Saudi Arabia, realized that Yemen was indeed a quagmire; as Kuwait was a swamp for Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and resulted in his downfall Yemen too could decide the same fate for the interventionists.”
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.