The U.S. is pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran that includes the re-imposition of key energy and banking sanctions. With Tehran refusing to capitulate over its nuclear program or regional policies, the U.S.-Iran rivalry could escalate across the region. Read Here – International Crisis Group
It was always hard to see why a semi-medieval Middle Eastern autocracy reliant on a single fossil fuel was the best place to discuss any of those issues. And it is just as hard to believe the world will be worse off for not hearing what the IMF’s Christine Lagarde or J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Dimon […]
Donald Trump’s handling of Jamal Khashoggi’s apparently brutal murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul is not the first time that an American president has had to maneuver between our economic interests and purported U.S. values. Read Here – Daily Beast
Saudi Arabia has rejected suggestions that it may restrict global oil supply in response to international pressure over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its consulate in Istanbul. Asked whether there could be a repetition of the 1973 oil embargo when Saudi Arabia and its allies cut off oil supplies to the United States, the […]
Until two weeks ago, Western officials could, and did, excuse MbS’s domestic authoritarianism by citing his apparent reordering of a Saudi Islam as being moderate rather than the extremist version which produced, via irresponsible religious education and charitable giving, 9/11 and the Islamic State. Not any longer. Read Here – The Hill Also Read: The Irony […]
At first shrill and chaotic, Europe’s outrage at Trump’s take-no-prisoners Iran policy has now found a bold and practical course of action. A core group of creative European civil servants has devised several economic mechanisms meant to demonstrate the EU’s continued support for the nuclear deal, deliver Iran its economic benefits, and assert Europe’s ability […]
U.S. and Iranian leaders traded insults in public at the U.N. General Assembly this week, but that’s a minor skirmish compared to the coming battle between the two adversaries. The U.S. government is about to launch its toughest sanctions yet to tighten the noose around the neck of the Tehran regime — a bold but […]
Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) now stands alone at the top of the hierarchy, but he has lost many constituencies that allow him to rule without resorting to direct force. This situation is unsustainable and even dangerous. There’s been a serious erosion of regime legitimacy, and this is leading to a slow implosion from within. […]
The legal status of the Caspian Sea has remained unresolved for nearly 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But now, the leaders of the five countries bordering the world’s biggest enclosed body of water have finally made significant headway after agreeing — at least, in principle — on how to […]
Making inroads into Iran has become a priority for both China and India, with both nations seeking to expand influence in their respective regions. Located at a critical juncture, Iran links Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. Furthermore, Iran’s abundant resources provide a significant amount of energy to China and India. Read Here […]
looking beyond borders 