When Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Moscow on 17 January 2025, it marked a significant turning point in the expanding partnership between Iran and Russia. Broad collaboration in vital areas like defense, counterterrorism, energy, finance, technology, cybersecurity, peaceful …
Read More »China’s Response to the Iran-Israel Conflict and the Hormuz Threat
Introduction China’s evolving position on the Iran-Israel conflict reflects a pragmatic adjustment to align with its broader geopolitical and economic goals, particularly in light of Iran’s June 2025 parliamentary move to potentially close the Strait of Hormuz. Initially, Beijing backed Iran’s sovereignty, endorsing Tehran’s “self-defense” claims against Israeli strikes.[1] By …
Read More »Iran, Israel race to court Azerbaijan as rivalry in Caucasus heats up
Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian and Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev in a bilateral trade forum, Baku, April 28, 2025
Read More »The Economic Fallout Of The Gaza Conflict For Iran
The Gaza-Israel conflict has significant implications for Iran’s already strained economy, characterized by currency devaluation, reduced government revenues, and high inflation. Iran’s involvement in the regional conflict hinders its economic growth efforts, further reduces the value of the Iranian rial, and decreases government income. Additionally, it has worsened economic problems such as …
Read More »Turkey And Iran Try To Find Common Ground Amid Complexities
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Turkey this week came against the backdrop of the Gaza war, ongoing regional crisis and conflicts in bilateral relations. The visit on Wednesday and the issues discussed reflected the intricate dynamics between Iran and Turkey. The visit resulted in ten agreements, emphasizing collaboration in …
Read More »Ripple Effects of the Gaza War: Geopolitical Strains and Energy Market Shocks
The Gaza war has exerted significant pressure not only on the geopolitical equilibrium but have also sent ripples through global trade initiatives, energy markets, particularly affecting investment strategies and operations in the oil and gas sectors within the Mediterranean region. The ongoing Israel-Gaza war has dramatically increased geopolitical tensions across …
Read More »The Geopolitics Of Iran’s Fuel Shipment To Lebanon
Utilizing energy exports as a political tool in foreign policy and making fuel shipments to allies to help enhance their security have been of interest to Iran in recent years. Lebanon is a case in point as Iran and its proxy, the Hezbollah, have tried to use fuel as a …
Read More »Iranian-Azerbaijani Relations Under the New Raisi Administration
Despite a rapprochement of sorts in 2019 (see EDM, March 20, 2019), Iran’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan faced new strains and challenges during the final year of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency (set to end on August 3, 2021), especially following the outbreak of the Second Karabakh War in late September …
Read More »Ship Attacks in the Persian Gulf: Another Manifestation of an Iranian-Israeli Proxy War?
Will the ongoing ‘ships war’ between Iran and Israel escalate? The Iran-Israel conflict has its own identity that goes beyond the geopolitical considerations of the Middle East. The Iran-Israel dispute is more ideological; that is, this confrontation has nothing to do with the national interests of the two countries or …
Read More »Energy Dimension of UAE-Israel Historical Deal
In August 2020 the UAE became the third Arab country to normalize relations with Israel after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), and the first country in the Gulf region; however, secret relationships have been going on for years. The UAE-Israel historical deal was widely welcomed by some of the region’s leaders, as well …
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