Energy Strategy & Foreign Policy Energy Strategy & Foreign Policy

As negotiations between the United States and Iran edge toward a possible agreement, Tehran is increasingly signaling that any return to war would look very different from the last. US officials said Thursday that a tentative agreement had been reached in talks between Tehran and Washington and was awaiting President Donald …

No serious policymaker should want an open-ended confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, but a deal that rewards Iran for closing or restricting the strait would create a long-term problem in exchange for short-term calm The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints. In normal …

The new pipeline will undoubtedly make UAE less vulnerable to disruptions in Hormuz. The country is also not new to the idea of bypassing the strait. New Delhi: As conflict in West Asia raises fresh concerns over the security of the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint—the United …

The Ukrainian MP said the decision told Russia that ‘everything can be bought and everything is for sale’Bryony GoochThursday 21 May 2026 00:47 EDT A Ukrainian politician has condemned the British government for loosening sanctions on Russian oil, saying it “puts a question mark” on the UK’s friendship with Ukraine. The government …

The UAE’s planned second Fujairah, or West-East, pipeline marks a major shift in Gulf energy security and export strategy. It matters not only because it reduces dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, but because it gives Abu Dhabi more freedom to manage exports, expand production, and strengthen its economic leverage. Announced for …

Vladimir Putin’s Beijing visit shows that pressure on Russia has hurt Moscow, but it has not left Russia isolated. Instead, it has pushed the bear closer to the dragon Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing on May 19-20 was not just another round of diplomatic theatre. It was a …

Baghdad Struggles with Rising Demand, Limited Domestic Generation, and Heavy Dependence on Iran for Fuel SuppliesIraq has been told that the long-awaited Gulf Cooperation Council electrical interconnection project will not arrive on schedule, leaving Baghdad with one fewer option before the summer heat. The project was due to begin operating …

Turkey’s reported plan to submit a bill to parliament asserting maritime jurisdiction over disputed areas of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean marks a serious escalation in one of the region’s most sensitive maritime disputes. The proposed legislation would reportedly formalize Ankara’s claims in contested waters believed to contain existing or potential natural …

On May 2, 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a landmark prohibition order under its 2021 Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extraterritorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures, commonly known as China’s Blocking Rules. The order bars the recognition, enforcement, or compliance inside China with U.S. sanctions imposed on five Chinese …

One week into the United States-Israel war on Iran in late February, missiles shifted towards each belligerent’s fossil fuel infrastructure. By March, President Donald Trump declared he wanted to “take the oil in Iran.” The war quickly devolved into a battle over energy targets and the control of oil prices Though oil …