Riyadh’s allies need to adjust more to the kingdom’s dynamic decisionmaking, once noted for being slow and cautious. In the almost four years since King Salman ascended to the throne, Saudi policy initiatives attributable to his son Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) have been rapid, surprising to outsiders, and considerably significant. They can almost be described… Keep reading →
In the last month, crude oil prices have retreated from four-high highs amid concerns of rising oil production worldwide and weakening demand from developing countries despite the U.S. re-imposing sanctions on Iran
The sanctions regimes against Russia were imposed in response to actual or alleged actions by the Russian government
Gen. Ali Mohsen could wind up as interim president despite his unpalatability to various parties, so Washington should prepare accordingly to avoid derailing peace talks. Washington’s recent push for Yemen talks is likely a product of pressure on several fronts: the rising sense of urgencyabout ending the destructive war; diplomatic troubles with Saudi Arabia; mounting congressional calls to halt military support for… Keep reading →
U.S. to Give Eight Nations Oil Waivers Under Iran Sanctions
Khamenei’s latest guidelines for Iranian culture and governance focus on resisting any efforts to reform the regime’s decisionmaking tendencies. On October 14, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei released a draft of the “Islamic-Iranian Blueprint for Progress,” a document that outlines his vision for the next half century. The final version of this blueprint is not expected… Keep reading →
Russia delivered advanced air-defense systems to Syria after the recent airplane-downing incident, but its desire to check Iran could permit continued Israeli operations in the Syrian skies. On September 17, the Syrian Air Defense Force shot down a Russian Ilyushin 20 (IL-20) surveillance aircraft following the latest Israeli Air Force (IAF) strike on Iranian precision-missile-production… Keep reading →
Tehran likely used the attack to demonstrate its unhindered regional reach, while flashing its enhanced deterrent posture through the testing of new military hardware. In the early hours of Monday, October 1, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran launched six surface-to-surface missiles across Iraq at “takfiri” (apostate) targets in Syria east of… Keep reading →
Oil market attention was focused on an OPEC meeting in Algeria this weekend, but it was Saturday’s terrorist attack in an oil-rich part of Iran that could have serious security implications for the world’s most important oil production region
Despite Russia’s anger and false media claims about the incident, Moscow is unlikely to demand that Israel halt its campaign against Iran’s foreign military buildup. On September 17, following the latest in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in northern Syria, one of the Assad regime’s S-200 missile batteries accidentally shot down a… Keep reading →
