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.
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 – Report: Energy security is the vital artery of Europe’s political economy, and any disruption to it challenges the continent’s resilience. Within the new architecture of energy security, the Middle East remains the gravitational center of supply; however, the overlooked element is Iran’s pivotal role as either a guarantor of stability or a source of disruption.
Strategic Council Online: Norway’s ambassador to Iran said, unfortunately, unilateral US sanctions after the Iran Nuclear Agreement (known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) made it difficult for Norway and Iran to cooperate in the field of energy.