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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.
Strategic Council Online: Next month, an international conference is set to be held in Warsaw on the Middle East with a focus on Iran. The main goal of the conference in Poland, the simultaneous presence of the Arab states of the Middle East and the Zionist regime, and the final outcome of the confab are among the issues that experts and the media are talking about these days.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi – Professor of Tehran University
Strategic Council Online: One of the most dramatic scenarios for the regional Coalition and the Western countries is an attempt to disintegrate and split Yemen and that too with the aim of undermining Yemen so that a powerful and democratic government would not come into power alongside the borders of Saudi kingdom.
Jafar Ghanadbashi, expert on West Asian affairs
Strategic Council Online: Donald Trump’s coming to power in the United States has faced relations between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean with some new dilemmas and problems. Now, this idea has been conceived that the White House occupant’s policies are aimed at undermining the European Union. Of course, the European countries did not hold a favourable opinion about Trump.
Dr. Behzad Ahmadi, Expert on European Affairs
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: US-North Korea relations are currently stalled, that is neither a specific movement is being taken on the part of Washington, nor does Pyongyang want to meet the demands of the other side the way they wish.
Ismail Bashari – Expert on Korean Peninsula affairs
Strategic Council Online: The idea of peace talks with the Taliban was raised from the early years of the US-NATO war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and after failure of the foreign forces to defeat the group was placed on the agenda of the parties fighting extremism.
Mohammad Reza Asgari Moroudi – Senior Researcher on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs believes that the most likely scenario for the future of peace in Yemen is the continuation of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, in parallel with the Saudi obstructions and repeated violations of the ceasefire provisions.
Strategic Council Online: Currently, the funding for construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border has become a bargaining chip between Trump and the Congress. The result of this bargaining also depends on the bargaining power of the two sides.
Reza Majidzadeh, International Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The Syrian dossier has reached a crucial and decisive stage this year. The widespread security crisis imposed on Syria by the crisis generating regional and international actors since 2011, with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian state and disturbing the balance of power in the region to the disadvantage of the Resistance, has reached its final stages thanks to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Forces as well as Russia’s assistance. Therefore, the year 2018 could be called the year of shifting the Syrian dossier into the political phase.
Ahmad Zarean – University Lecturer & Senior Expert on Strategic Affairs
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The intensification of U.S. sanctions against Iran on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections indicates Washington’s inability to achieve its war objectives.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The competition between Washington and Beijing over chips and artificial intelligence, simultaneously with the shifting of technological balances, has taken on new economic and security dimensions.