Hardliners have been exploiting the recurrent unrest as an excuse to lambaste the government’s economic track record, interfere with its prerogatives in various sectors, and double down on the Supreme Leader’s ‘resistance’ strategy. In his first public reaction to Iran’s recent protests and mounting economic crisis, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attempted to deflect public anger… Keep reading →
The strategic Gulf island on the frontline against Iran faces formidable financial and diplomatic challenges, made more complicated by looming parliamentary elections. The smallest Persian Gulf country is in the throes of big economic problems. A growing debt burden means it needs foreign exchange to avoid a currency devaluation. Its wealthy neighbors—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and… Keep reading →
Recently, we discussed how natural gas and oil production and energy exports were major contributors to robust second-quarter growth by the U.S. economy – by themselves generating nearly half of the increase in U.S. real exports in Q2. Yet, there’s concern that escalating U.S. trade restrictions and looming disputes could threaten global trade and economic growth. We’ve… Keep reading →
As the regime’s strategy for countering the Trump administration continues to falter, will its traditional two-step of provocation and restraint give way to wider escalation? On May 23, in his Ramadan “Tom and Jerry” speech, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei made a list of demands on Europe to keep Iran in the nuclear deal. Two months later,… Keep reading →
A recent trend in the upstream and midstream oil and gas industry is for midstream services providers to offer certain forms of additional compensation to oil and gas lessees
Tehran has generally responded to pressure by issuing threats, ramping up its nuclear activities, accepting temporary limits, and, when the heat is turned up, launching cyber, military, and terrorist operations. This PolicyWatch is the first in a two-part series on shaping Iran’s potential responses to increased U.S. pressure on its nuclear activities. Read Part 2, which… Keep reading →
Given what is happening at a macro political level, a Brexit crash landing looks increasingly possible
To preserve Libyan unity, the United States should threaten to block any oil shipments not authorized by the country’s internationally recognized government. On June 21, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, reclaimed two of Libya’s largest terminals after the militia leader Ibrahim Jadhran had seized them earlier in the month. Haftar… Keep reading →
Turkey’s decisive election results and shaky geopolitical situation could make it more amenable to addressing U.S. concerns about Russian weapons sales, Iranian adventurism, and other key security issues. At first glance, the June 24 electoral sweep by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coalition did not go over well in the United States. In response to… Keep reading →
The big push for GDPR compliance is over – or is it?
