High-ranking officials from Iran and Tajikistan made a total of three visits to Dushanbe and Tehran, respectively, in less than two months, a significant sign that after years of frosty relations, diplomatic ties are finally improving (Khovar, February 23, March 29, April 5). Even more... MORE

Introduction The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has openly challenged Washington’s role as global rule-setter. The administration of CCP General Secretary and state president Xi Jinping (习近平) has also taken multi-pronged measures to counter perceived efforts by a U.S.-led “coalition of democracies” to contain China.... MORE

Geopolitical competition in the Caspian Sea region over oil and natural gas fields, pipelines carrying these hydrocarbons across that body of water, and security measures intended to protect both have attracted the bulk of the attention of the littoral states as well as outside powers... MORE

Saddam al-Jamal, a.k.a. Abu Roqaiyya al-Ansari, is a notorious member of Islamic State (IS), and his arrest in May 2018 evoked strong reactions, both in the region and across the world. Al-Jamal was captured, along with four other high-level IS members, by Iraq’s intelligence agency... MORE

On March 2, the United States imposed sanctions on two senior military commanders of the Houthi organization: Mansur al-Saadi, chief of staff of the Houthis’ Navy and Ahmad al-Hamzi, commander of the Houthis’ Air Force (Middle East Eye, March 2). The announcement by the U.S.... MORE

When the five Caspian littoral states (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan) finally agreed, in August 2018, to the delimitation of the surface of the sea after almost two decades of on-again, off-again talks, many assumed that accord meant the situation in and around the... MORE

On February 22, Iranian military forces opened fire on a group of Baluch fuel carriers who were protesting against the government for blocking their ability to take fuel loads into Pakistan. For decades, the livelihoods of thousands of Baluch families have depended on transporting cheap... MORE

Reports claiming that Russia will, within a few weeks, welcome Iran as a new member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) may be premature, but they are still likely to be realized in the not-too-distant future, some Russian analysts argue (RitmEurasia, February 26). These reports... MORE

As its relations with Europe deteriorate and partnership with China hits an apparent pause, Russia searches for new opportunities to restore its compromised global status. Moscow found quite a few such prospects in the Middle East in recent years. And yet, as it sought to... MORE

On January 3, 11 coal miners from the minority Hazara Shiite community were killed in Pakistan’s western Baluchistan province, reflecting the increasing security challenge in the restive province bordering Afghanistan and Iran. The attack also fuels sectarian tensions in Pakistan and raises concerns about the... MORE