Executive Summary: Turkmenistan, a constitutionally mandated neutral and closed off country, has attracted far less attention and played a smaller role than its neighbors in regional trade and transit. Ashgabat has not only become more active abroad but has also reached agreements that will make... MORE

Executive Summary: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is moving Armenian foreign policy away from traditional alliances with Russia and Iran, favoring closer ties with the West which could be an important paradigm shift in its foreign policy after dependence on Moscow and Tehran. Yerevan’s new... MORE

Executive Summary: In the last two weeks, Azerbaijan’s ties to China and Iran have warmed significantly, with Baku and Beijing declaring a strategic partnership and Baku and Tehran announcing the reopening of an Azerbaijani embassy in Iran.  In the South Caucasus, these accords will affect... MORE

Executive Summary: On May 23, an Afghan Taliban delegation traveled to Tehran to meet with the emir of Qatar and the head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. In an effort to downplay bad press as it continues to seek diplomatic recognition, Hamas appears to... MORE

Executive Summary: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka recently made a series of public pronouncements that have provoked Armenia and Israel and placed Belarus in an even more precarious geopolitical position. Lukashenka’s flippant comments in Azerbaijan, tense relationship with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and series of... MORE

Executive Summary: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19, renewing discussions over who will eventually succeed 85-year-old Supreme Leader Khamenei. While ostensibly benefitting Khameni’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, Raisi’s “hard landing” opens the door for Reformists and disaffected elements of the... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan has taken a more conservative stance on the war in Gaza, maintaining relations with Israel, on the one hand, and avoiding declaring Hamas a terrorist organization, on the other. Baku’s position represents a break from the responses of Türkiye, Pakistan, and many... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan and Türkiye signed an agreement for cooperation with natural gas, which includes increased export of Central Asian and Azerbaijani gas to Türkiye with Turkmenistan being a primary exporter. Debate over including Iran in these agreements adds uncertainty to the project due to... MORE

Executive Summary: Malaysia has maintained an ambiguously warm relationship toward Hamas, even following the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is known to be a vocal defender of the group, and the country is home to Aman Palestin, a charity that... MORE

Executive Summary: An attack by the Iran-based Sunni Baloch separatist militant group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) on the port city of Chabahar on April 3 displayed an uncharacteristic level of sophistication from the group. These mirror innovations previously seen in attacks conducted in Pakistan... MORE