An Analysis of the Makkah Defense Pact
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat, stating that in the current situation we will be witness to the continuation of regional rivalries and differences between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said: Although the presence of the Taliban has reduced the level of tension and mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban cannot treat Pakistan against their ethnic sentiments, and the two sides are trying to prevent tensions from escalating by managing differences.
Strategic Council Online – Note: After Vietnam, the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is the second US “fatal defeat” experience in a foreign war in the post-World War II era that has dealt a heavy blow on the US international standing.
Hamid Khoshayand – analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former spokesman of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban today is different from the past, said: In fact, because they want to rule, they know they must adhere to a set of principles and values to which the world and the Afghan people are sensitive.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of international issues says the United States irresponsible withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has disrupted the relative stability in that country as the US is trying in addition to creating instability in the region, manage the Afghan crisis to create a threat for its rivals in the region.
Strategic Council Online – Assistant to Minister and Director General of West Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the meeting of intra-Afghan groups in Tehran had a special success, added: The Taliban, with its past experience, realizes that it cannot necessarily achieve international legitimacy by military force; rather, international legitimacy is achieved through political negotiations.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Afghanistan issues says no change has been taken place in the goals, motivations and ideology of Taliban compared to the past two decades and the Taliban, during various periods, has made efforts given the present circumstances in Afghanistan to realize a portion of its goals and programs with special tools.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Afghan affairs stressed: The Taliban is trying to gain the most points from the two main factions of the government in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations process by escalating violence and claiming to have the largest share in any form of the future political structure of that country.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: A senior researcher says the US defense budget for 2021 has allocated the highest amount to the research and development in the history of the military budget of America.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: After years of conflict, violence and bloodshed, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, finally, accepted to sit at the negotiation table instead of killing each other and using military tools and terror to put a stop to the multi-decade wars in Afghanistan through political action and inter-Afghan talks.
Seyyed Mostafa Hashemi—Expert of Afghanistan affairs
Strategic Council Online: A university professor says US President Donald Trump’s order to set sanctions against staff of the International Court of Justice at The Hague shows that the Americans know no limits in committing all sorts of crimes. He added: “In the past, the Americans were never convicted for the crimes they committed in the past, but today a major substantial shift is taking shape globally and with the growing awareness and understanding of the world people they will react to these atrocious acts and behaviors.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.