ARTICLES

Disputes Between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region May Limit Demand for Northern Iraqi Crude On March 17, 2026, Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government agreed to resume crude exports through the northern segment of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. By March 18, shipments had commenced, with …

The crisis has shifted from a logistical bottleneck to a structural supply shock, with far more severe implications for global energy stability On March 18, Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field and the onshore processing hub at Asaluyeh in Bushehr province, marking a major escalation in the conflict begun by the …

Iran’s hydrocarbon sector, which holds the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves and second-largest natural gas reserves, remains structurally significant to global energy markets. However, it is increasingly constrained by domestic macroeconomic pressures and external trade frictions. As of early 2026, rapid currency depreciation, persistently high inflation, recurring gas shortages, and episodic …

For India, the challenge will be to pursue connectivity ambitions while carefully managing the geopolitical risks associated with a volatile West Asia The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced during the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, is one of the most ambitious connectivity initiatives linking Asia, West …

The Strait of Hormuz Carries Roughly 20 Percent of Global Liquefied Natural Gas Trade and a Similar Share of Seaborne Oil The escalating conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran has triggered one of the most significant disruptions to global energy markets in recent years. After U.S. and Israeli …

Even Limited Damage Can Force Shutdowns, Suspend Exports, and Trigger Panic Across Energy Markets The Gulf Cooperation Council states—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—long have sustained global energy stability. As the conflict with Iran expands, it directly threatens Persian Gulf oil and gas infrastructure and …

A soft closure of the Strait of Hormuz can inflict much of the same damage as a declared blockade The February 28 US-Israeli strikes on Iran have turned a regional military confrontation into a global market shock. The conflict has begun to reprice energy, shipping, insurance, aviation, and financial risk.  For global …

The Regime May Still Hold the Center, but Holding the Center Is Not the Same as Maintaining State Capacity The February 28, 2026, U.S. and Israeli air strikes have not yet ended the Islamic Republic, but they have weakened the Iranian state’s ability to govern. State failure does not begin …

Doha Converted Gas Revenue Into Global Influence and Marketed Itself as the Supplier That Delivers Even During Turbulence Qatar reads Iran-U.S. tensions through the blunt logic of self-preservation. Doha worries less about “regional instability” than about losing the conditions that let it build an liquefied natural gas empire with limited regional contestation. …

Reports in major outlets that Tehran has floated a “commercial bonanza” to the Trump administration should be understood less as an investment roadmap than as a survival strategy. As Donald Trump’s 10-to-15-day deadline for a “meaningful” deal with Iran enters its decisive phase, Iranian officials appear to be reframing diplomacy …