SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Caucasus issues says it is necessary to maintain the balance of power in the south Caucasus region, adding that if with the disruption of the balance of power in the region, issues proceed in a competitive manner among the actors, every cognitive error and miscalculation may cause great tensions in the region and even lead to a military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online- Opinion: The result of the Iraqi parliamentary election drew the attention of observers and political circles because it has changed the political arrangement of the Parliament of the country.
Siamak Kakaei, Expert on Iraq affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: There are several behind-the-scene targets of the recent suicide operations in Afghanistan; but the main objective is definitely to pit Shiites and Sunnis in the country against one another.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university professor, saying that if the Taliban do not fulfill their commitments, they should not expect other players to cooperate in different fields, stressed: At the Moscow meeting, efforts should be made to move the negotiations in a direction where the United States and the Taliban undertake commitments that are difficult to be ignored.
Strategic Council Online- Interview: Having stated that Taliban tries to proceed with their international legitimacy through the regional powers, an analyst on Afghanistan affairs said:” they try to set up a government in Afghanistan regardless of the interests of ethnical- political groups and in the meantime, to obtain the regional powers’ support.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online-Opinion: The Zionist regime is still seeking to publicize the establishment or expansion of diplomatic relations with various Arab countries. Iraq is one important Arab country for which the Zionist officials are adopting a specific strategy and various tactics for normalization of relations and expansion of influence.
Hamid Khoshayand- Analyst of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A former Iranian diplomat considered Islamabad’s support for the Taliban coming to power in Kabul as a threat to Pakistan’s future and said: The coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul stimulates ethnic sentiments for supporting the Pashtuns in the Pashtun-populated and tribal areas and this will become a great challenge for the government of that country.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Iraq affairs said: Supporters of the US presence in Iraq think that with the withdrawal of America conditions similar to those created in Afghanistan will emerge and armed groups or similar ones will gain power in Iraq; but there are major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: Former head of the Logistics Headquarter of Afghanistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the Taliban is now only thinking of consolidating its international position; said: So far, there is no evidence of the efforts of the leaders of that group to create an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has marked the end of Washington’s direct military presence in the country; however, America’s financial, political, and security levers can still affect and cause problems for the future of this country.
SCFR Online – Opinion: After months of war and economic pressure, the situation between Iran and the United States has been placed between two conflicting logics; Washington insists on intensifying pressure to gain concessions, and Tehran does not accept negotiations under pressure.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The expansion of artificial intelligence and influence operations has drawn the field of conflict from physical space to the perceptual and algorithmic environment and has turned cognitive deterrence into a strategic necessity.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Riyadh, amid the Iran war, Yemeni pressure, and ambiguous Washington guarantees, has turned to flexible balancing in order to both preserve its security and increase its bargaining power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: London’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen file, beyond a limited aerial mission, could confront Britain with broad legal, security, economic, and strategic consequences.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The acceleration of AI competition has shattered the boundaries of economic, military, intelligence, and cognitive power, turning this technology into a strategic component of national power.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The three-day visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington and his meeting with Donald Trump on September 24 and 25, 2026, accompanied by a ceremonial welcome at Andrews Air Force Base, was more a diplomatic display for managing the level of tensions than an indication of a breakthrough achievement in relations between the two powers.
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.