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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided remarkable opportunities for political and economic cooperation among the Member States even though it was primarily formed with security and military objectives.
Barsam Mohammadi-International issues analyst
Strategic Council Online: Commercial and economic relations between Islamabad and Tehran is not out of the political relations between the two neighbors and despite tremendous capacities are still delayed because of the lack of common and strong political determination in the two capitals.
Somaye Marevati—Researcher of Afghanistan and Pakistan issues
Strategic Council Online – Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy Department at Allameh Tabatabaei University, explaining the features of the Russian and Chinese SWIFTs, said: What could become the strong point of the Chinese and Russian SWIFTs is that if the volume, number, and scope of US sanctions expands in the world; those could become the SWIFT of the US-sanctioned block, and they could gain tremendous maneuvering power in the world of economics.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Iran and Turkey are the two important countries in the West Asia region and inheritors of great empires and historical hegemony that have always been in “competition and cooperation” with each other. Although the two countries have different and sometimes competitive roles and effects in the region and disagree on various issues, those differences have never meant ignoring and overshadowing the many common interests in bilateral relations.
Hamid Khoshayand – International Affairs Analyst
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: During the tenure of Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, the new President of Uzbekistan, changes have partly taken place in relations between Uzbekistan and other countries including Iran.
Hassan Beheshtipoor—Expert of Asia affairs
Strategic Council Online: If Iran under the sanctions and under circumstances that Europe too has failed to meet its commitments, could properly pursue its cooperation with Eurasia an opportunity for expanding regional trade and increasing Iran’s non-oil exports will be provided.
Afshar Soleimani – Former Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan
Strategic Council Online: The most important cooperation potentials of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are: RCEP’s significant contribution to the global economy, the common interests of certain member states of both organizations in trade and economic war with the United States, and RCEP’s open doors to admit other economic organizations.
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has created a new opportunity for Iran to transform its membership from a political achievement into economic and transit cooperation.
Strategic Council Online – Note: The Makkah Defense Pact can be seen as a sign of regional countries’ efforts to reduce security dependence on extra-regional powers and redefine the balance in West Asia.