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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
Strategic Council Online: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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: An expert on European affairs, referring to a quartet summit of Europe and Turkey on Syria on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, said: Turkey has been seeking a series of political concessions over developments in northern Syria in recent years.
Strategic Council Online: Former Middle East Director-General of the IRI Foreign Ministry believes that after the recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the authorities in Riyadh have concluded that the crisis is getting out of control.
Strategic Council Online: The US wants to somehow continue its relative support for Kurdish groups in northern Syria, which is not very pleasing to Turkey, so although at the current juncture it seems that the US support for Turkey’s military presence in Syria would remain within the limits of the agreements between the parties, the trend of these developments in the long-term will depend on the conditions Syria would face.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: Turkish local elections were held on March 31st, the first local election in the presidential system in Turkey, and held in the form of a coalition for the first time since the start of the local elections in 1948.
Sadegh Maleki – Strategist and Senior Political Analyst
Strategic Council Online: Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured the highest number of votes in the local elections on March 31 throughout the country but did not win in key cities. The interesting point is that the Turkish president, for the first time in his political life, is tasting defeat and maybe this is the beginning of the end of the authority of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the undisputed leader of the Justice and Development Party and the Turkish president.
Firouz Dawlat Abadi – Former IRI Ambassador to Turkey and Expert on Regional Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Generally speaking, municipal elections, despite the relative success of the Justice & Development Party, exposed challenges between political parties and groups in Turkey.
Siamak Kakai – Turkish Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: At Sochi Conference, not only arrangements were made to deal seriously with the remnants of the terrorist groups in Adlib, but also thanks to the efforts of Iran and Russia points were included in the final statement which will prevent any misuse of the vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of American forces.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The recent agreement between Turkey and Russia with an aim to improve the situation in Syria could help conceive an Iranian-Turkish-Russian triangle to solve the Syrian crisis.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: One of the contingencies and scenarios discussed for the future dialogue between the Kurds and the Syrian government, is for a part of the American troops to stay in the northern regions of Syria, in which case the Kurdish tribes will face a new dilemma: To continue cooperation with the United States or forge new cooperation with the Syrian government. The existence of this dilemma can further create disparities within the Kurdish groups and prevent them from pursuing the right path.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East expert
Strategic Council Online: The new changes in the Saudi cabinet will not be very deep and widespread and we should not expect a tangible turn in Saudi foreign policy vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis or Iran-related issues.
Dr. Rahman Ghahramanpour – Senior Middle East Researcher
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.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The upcoming Palestinian elections, after nearly two decades of hiatus, could affect the arrangement of political forces, the legitimacy of institutions, and the future path of Palestinian governance.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The direct war of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, disruption of nuclear inspections, and intensification of great power competition have taken the non-proliferation crisis beyond the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
SCFR Online – Opinion: In the Iran–U.S. equation, China pursues a cautious balance between its energy and transit interests with Tehran and considerations related to sanctions and competition with Washington.
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.