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  • 11 Apr 2025
    • Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament
    • Middle East
    • Iran
    • United States

    Why Oman? Explaining the choice of venue for US-Iran talks

    Jonathan Campbell-James
    Oman’s skill as a facilitator has been fine-tuned over decades – not that many know.
  • 9 Jan 2025
    • Iran
    • Sex and Gender

    No, the compulsory hijab hasn’t made Iranian women safer

    Kourosh Ziabari
    The numbers don’t lie.
  • 6 Dec 2024
    • Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • United Nations
    • Iran
    • Iraq

    Hans Blix: The arms control Einstein who turned 96 this year

    Kourosh Ziabari
    A consensus-builder who believes nuclear weapons are never in safe hands, no matter who holds them.
  • 21 Nov 2024
    • North Korea
    • Intelligence and security
    • Iran's Nuclear Program
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Iran
    • Israel

    Cat-astrophe! What happens when dirty-minded North Koreans meet Iranian nuclear purrfidy

    Daniel Flitton
    I spy an invisible cat. Two, in fact.
  • 15 Nov 2024
    • Russia
    • Iran
    • Israel
    • Yemen
    • United States

    What does Trump’s return mean for America’s relations with Russia?

    Ian Hill
    Whatever happens over the next four years, the underlying causes of Russia–US confrontation won’t go away.
  • 8 Oct 2024
    • Defence & Security
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Ukraine
    • Global Issues
    • Iran
    • Israel

    When the friendly skies above go dark, rockets light up

    Kazimier Lim
    How airspace closures signal the geopolitical strategies unfolding in the Middle East.
  • 7 Oct 2024
    • Middle East
    • Iran
    • Israel
    • The Trump Presidency
    • United States
    • US Elections

    Trump would put personality over policy in the Middle East

    Lydia Khalil
    Donald Trump’s overarching impulse towards the Middle East can be boiled down to: look strong, but don’t do too much.
  • 12 Sep 2024
    • Iran

    What Iranians want for their country

    Kourosh Ziabari
    It takes a vibrant civil society to stand up to the establishment.
  • 6 Sep 2024
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security
    • Trade
    • Iran
    • Yemen

    Iran’s shadow hand in Houthi Red Sea attacks

    Jonathan Campbell-James
    How the Houthis and Iranians work together isn’t absolutely clear – but stopping the threat to shipping requires more than shooting down incoming missiles and extends to disrupting an intelligence and targeting system.
  • 7 Aug 2024
    • China
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Trade
    • Iran
    • Israel

    China’s high-stakes diplomacy: Managing Middle Eastern turmoil

    Joseph Webster
    Will Beijing exert more effort to calm the region and protect its economic interests and credibility?
  • 23 Jul 2024
    • Iran

    The curious international silence about Iran’s new reformist president

    Kourosh Ziabari
    A surprise victory in elections hasn’t raised international hopes of change, even if that was the message Iranian people intended to send at the ballot box.
  • 18 Jul 2024
    • Iran

    IRGC Navy flexes its long-range threat capability

    Jonathan Campbell-James
    Converted container ships might not last long in a hot war, but could vastly expand the range of trouble that Iran seeks to stir.
  • 8 Jul 2024
    • Japan
    • Diplomacy
    • Iran

    Diplomacy at a funeral

    Tim Hamer
    Recent deaths of world leaders have highlighted that international relations can take place at unexpected venues.
  • 2 Jul 2024
    • North Korea
    • France
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Human rights
    • Iran
    • Israel

    Pariah states and the Olympic Games

    Gabriela Bernal
    With the Paris Games only weeks away, the controversy around athletes from “rogue” countries is set to intensify.
  • 21 May 2024
    • Iran

    Iran: Consequences of the vacant presidency

    Naysan Rafati , Ali Vaez
    While continuity in foreign policy is likely, tension between state and society could be further exacerbated by competition within the conservative camp.
  • 30 Apr 2024
    • North Korea
    • Iran

    Trouble together: How North Korea sees its growing interests with Iran

    Gabriela Bernal
    Global isolation is building ties that bind. Better to engage and take away the incentive.  
  • 17 Apr 2024
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Iran
    • Israel

    Iran-Israel: The escalation calculus

    Lydia Khalil
    Iran’s weekend strike against Israel was thwarted, but how should we calculate its impacts?
  • 5 Apr 2024
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Pakistan
    • Terrorism
    • Iran

    Pakistan: The dangerous reality of working on China’s megaprojects

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    A spate of deadly insurgent attacks on Chinese nationals sends a message about vulnerability.
  • 8 Feb 2024
    • Defence & Security
    • Al Qaeda
    • Emerging Threats
    • Islamic State
    • Maritime Security
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Terrorism
    • Technology
    • Middle East
    • Iran
    • Iraq
    • Lebanon
    • Yemen

    Non-state actors and the phantom of asymmetry

    Ved Shinde
    The might of the US military no longer guarantees world order. There are new actors and new ecosystems in play.
  • 30 Jan 2024
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Iran
    • Yemen

    An Iranian trap in Yemen

    Ben Scott
    Washington was wise to delay its retaliation against the Houthis given the regional history with unintended consequences.
  • 20 Nov 2023
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Egypt
    • Iran
    • Iraq
    • Israel
    • Lebanon
    • Qatar
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Syria
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Yemen

    The war in Gaza has not destroyed normalisation … for now

    Lydia Khalil
    Despite deepening hostilities, common strategic interests still bind Israel and most of the Arab states.
  • 1 Nov 2023
    • India
    • India's Economy
    • Europe
    • Europe's Economy
    • Trade
    • Middle East
    • Iran
    • Israel
    • Saudi Arabia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • United States
    • US Economy

    History repeats: A new (old) economic corridor emerges

    Ved Shinde
    Renewed connectivity between India, the Middle East and Europe shows how maps are temporary, but geography persists.
  • 26 Sep 2023
    • Middle East
    • Egypt
    • Iran
    • Israel
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Türkiye
    • United Arab Emirates

    Israel and Saudi Arabia: Finally, a New Middle East?

    Dave Sharma
    A deal with the Middle East’s two most significant powers could transform the volatile region, but the stakes are high.
  • 9 Aug 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • Resource security
    • Technology
    • Iran

    Iran’s lithium lode: A potential strategic game-changer

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Australia might find itself on a political and economic tightrope as China looks to diversify its options for the new oil of our times.
  • 31 May 2023
    • Iran

    Reviving hope in Iran: Why the “Woman Life Freedom” movement lives on

    Laetitia Nanquette
    Iran is again undergoing a revolution and joy, once sparked, will not be extinguished.
  • 23 May 2023
    • Iran

    Even under sanctions, Iran is expanding a network of friends

    Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal
    Membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation offers Iran the chance to consolidate markets.  
  • 15 May 2023
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Iran
    • Saudi Arabia

    China to the rescue, with peace plans for Saudi, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan – up to a point

    Henry Storey
    These diplomatic gambits all carry a message. But conflict resolution isn’t necessarily the main one.
  • 28 Mar 2023
    • China
    • Pakistan
    • Iran
    • Saudi Arabia

    China trumpets the Saudi-Iran deal, yet much credit goes to Pakistan 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    A little-heralded meeting in Islamabad set the stage for two arch rivals to set aside differences.
  • 10 Mar 2023
    • Iran

    A tenuous tourniquet: Iran’s nuclear program

    Ali Vaez , Naysan Rafati
    Monitoring alone cannot overcome the reality that Iran’s capability remains potent, and a headache for the West.
  • 4 Jan 2023
    • Iran

    The personal is political: Iran protests for a normal life

    Shadi Rouhshahbaz
    The regime has trampled not only women’s rights. An array of grievances makes everyone a leader of this struggle.
  • 29 Nov 2022
    • Iran

    Iran: Deep state, shallow protests

    Rodger Shanahan
    In a case of better the devil you know, potential for the country’s current unrest to be regime-changing is low.
  • 29 Sep 2022
    • Iran

    Iran protests: the more things change …

    Rodger Shanahan
    Iranians see demonstrations as a chance to register their voice – but that doesn’t mean the regime is about to topple.
  • 27 Sep 2022
    • Iran

    After Mahsa Amini’s death, Iran protests signal a generational shift

    Paymon Azmoudeh
    The regime is struggling to contain demonstrations that demand nothing less than an end to the Islamic Republic.
  • 6 May 2022
    • United States
    • Iran's Nuclear Program
    • Iran

    Iran applies its own maximum pressure in nuclear talks

    Prabhat Jawla
    With negotiations seemingly deadlocked, the Biden administration’s hopes for a major foreign policy win appear dashed.
  • 28 Jan 2022
    • Iran

    Iran banks on Beijing and Moscow, inviting painful historic parallels

    Paymon Azmoudeh
    A “Look East” policy favoured by hardliners in Tehran appears out of step with local sentiment and past experience.
  • 17 Sep 2021
    • China's Military
    • China
    • Iran
    • Pakistan
    • Russia

    China – a lonely superpower

    Henry Storey
    Despite many countries having issues with the West, China has few obvious alliance candidates.
  • 13 Sep 2021
    • United States
    • Syria
    • Iran
    • Iraq
    • Energy
    • Lebanon

    Iran’s energy diplomacy

    Rodger Shanahan
    Tehran knows its hand when it comes to playing the energy card across the region.
  • 4 Jun 2021
    • Iran

    Narrowing the field in Iran’s election

    Rodger Shanahan
    For one name on the ballot papers, the presidency may be a stepping stone to greater office.
  • 13 Apr 2021
    • United States
    • Iran's Nuclear Program
    • Iran
    • Israel

    Iran-US-Israel: Boxing out of the shadows

    Rodger Shanahan
    Gradual progress in talks to revive the nuclear deal may be dealt a blow by a series of “grey-zone” attacks.
  • 15 Mar 2021
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Iran
    • Israel

    An oil spill nobody owns

    Rodger Shanahan
    A clandestine operation? Environmental terrorism? Israel and Iran both deny responsibility for a mysterious event.
  • 12 Mar 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • Australia
    • Iran

    Iran: Could Australia’s hostage diplomacy have been better?

    Ian Parmeter
    A public campaign by Australia’s government to try to shame Iran into freeing Kylie Moore-Gilbert would not have worked.
  • 1 Feb 2021
    • Indonesia
    • Iran

    Why Indonesia seizing an Iranian tanker is purely over domestic law

    Aristyo Rizka Darmawan
    Jakarta’s control over archipelagic waters imposes special rights and responsibilities.
  • 20 Jan 2021
    • United States
    • Iran's Nuclear Program
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Iran

    Iran nuclear deal: Revenge of the diplomats

    Rodger Shanahan
    Re-negotiations with Tehran will be a fascinating guide to how a Biden administration deals with Middle East challenges.
  • 2 Dec 2020
    • Al Qaeda
    • Terrorism
    • Iran

    Al-Qaeda: The core problem

    Lydia Khalil
    The killing of senior terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Masri on a Tehran street raises questions about al-Qaeda’s ties to Iran.
  • 30 Nov 2020
    • Iran's Nuclear Program
    • Iran
    • Israel

    The fallout of assassinating Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

    Bob Bowker
    The killing of the head of the Iranian nuclear program may make it even harder to revive the nuclear deal.
  • 6 Nov 2020
    • Iran
    • Sex and Gender

    Iran’s year of reckoning

    Melissa George
    The #MeToo movement is gaining traction in Iran, but its impact is unlikely to alter the status quo in the short term.
  • 16 Oct 2020
    • Iran
    • Russia
    • Türkiye
    • Israel
    • Caucasus

    The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Increasingly deadly and destabilising  

    Marianne Hanson
    An eruption of bitter fighting in a seemingly intractable conflict is aggravating wider regional tensions.
  • 14 Oct 2020
    • Sustainability
    • Afghanistan
    • Iran
    • Climate change

    Afghanistan and Iran: From water treaty to water dispute

    Said Hashmat Sadat , Nasrat Sayed
    A dam near completion on the Helmand River in Afghanistan is at the centre of a disagreement over water rights.
  • 8 Oct 2020
    • Middle East
    • Iran

    Iran’s declining regional influence

    Shahram Akbarzadeh , Zahid Shahab Ahmed , William Gourlay
    Tehran capitalised on US mistakes in the Middle East, but its proxy wars and consistently aggressive façade have a cost.
  • 2 Sep 2020
    • China
    • Iran
    • China – Belt and Road Initiative

    A China-Iran bilateral deal: Costs all around

    Jeffrey Payne
    Beijing sees an opportunity in Tehran’s international isolation – but may not realise the tangle it is entering.
Pagination
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