2025/08/03
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The expansion of the BRICS group, particularly with the addition of influential powers such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, has sparked a wave of concern in American policymaking circles, especially among conservative factions symbolized by Donald Trump. This fear does not stem merely from the increase in membership. Still, it is rooted in the coalition’s potential to challenge the Western-led economic and political order—particularly the dollar’s exclusive status as the global reserve and exchange currency.
2024/06/23
Strategic Council Online—Opinion: Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that BRICS is currently reviewing about 30 requests from different countries proposing various forms of cooperation. The increase in the number of countries applying for membership in the BRICS group indicates the growing importance of this group in the political and economic relations of the international system.
2024/03/04
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?
2023/03/09
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A university faculty member saying that the world today is far more complicated than the Cold War era, and based on the developments of the contemporary world and its trends, the possibility of Cold War lineup is not high, noted: Ukraine is the ground for Russia’s strategic mistakes; because even in case of victory, in the long run the economy and then the security of Russia will be worn out.
2021/12/15
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Seven years after Russia’s military action against Ukraine in 2014 and annexation of the Crimean peninsula to the mainland Russia, the country’s recent military rally along the border with Ukraine and holding of numerous exercises by the two countries, once again has increased the likelihood of Russian military action against Ukraine.
Hossein Sayyahi – Researcher on international affairs
