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 – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
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 – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
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 – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
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 – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
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 – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
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 – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s attack on the Gaza Strip, one of the primary and serious concerns surrounding it was the shaping of a comprehensive and regional war involving various countries in West Asia and international powers supporting the multiple sides of the war. Of course, the concern of all regional actors about this all-encompassing war was not and is not the same. While Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always tried to manage tensions and avoid engaging in a large-scale war desired by the Zionist regime, the current criminal and rebellious actor in the region, the Israeli regime, who apparently has been granted authorization by the world powers for any action to maintain its security, has other motives in mind.
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: In a situation where, in recent months, the United States made extensive efforts to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, and a few Arab governments in the region also started their relations with Tel Aviv, on the anniversary of Yom Kippur War, the surprise and large-scale attack by Hamas forces on occupied territories were carried out under the codename “Al-Aqsa Storm” and by launching five thousand rockets to nearby Jewish settlements and some areas in the center of Israel. In the meantime, Hamas forces entered the areas occupied by the Israelis – an attack that caught the world by surprise and overshadowed other important crises and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Karabakh crisis.
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri – University professor
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: After the Russia’s military strike against Ukraine in early months of 2022, many international observers and analysts thought that the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, due to their proximity to the United States and Western countries, would immediately condemn the attack and would join the camp of the West, but the speculations did not turn out to be correct.
Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri – University professor
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.