If Moscow can get away with boldly flouting U.S. interests in a key American security zone such as the Middle East, where might it interfere next, and at what cost to the international security system? As Secretary of State John Kerry visits Germany for the 52nd Munich Security Conference this week, questions about Washington’s hesitant… Keep reading →
Regional regulators must take steps, as the Iraqi Central Bank has done, to wall off their financial systems from unlicensed or loosely regulated money remitters vulnerable to exploitation by the Islamic State. This week, the entity known as the Foreign Ministers of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL/Da’esh met in Rome… Keep reading →
Reversing the political, military, and ideological factors that led to the movement’s rise will require substantive projects that are as self-sustaining and nimble as IS has proven to be. The Islamic State brand is an ambitious and seductive vision that has proven to be a tremendous media success. Yet this vision is ultimately tethered to… Keep reading →
Iran’s plan to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) within two years is what you call a market signal, one that should cause U.S. policymakers to reconsider the ponderous pace with which proposed U.S. LNG export projects are gaining federal approval. The Wall Street Journal reported: Iran is pushing to find new ways to extract and… Keep reading →
As in past elections, the Guardian Council seems poised to disqualify thousands of registered Majlis candidates, and its procedures for doing so are revealing. On February 26, Iran will hold elections for parliament (also known as the Majlis or Islamic Consultative Assembly) and the Assembly of Experts. Initial reports indicate that thousands of candidates have… Keep reading →
Implementation Day under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed by the P5+1, the European Union, and Iran came on January 16, 2016 and certain nuclear-related secondary sanctions on Iran have now been lifted.
The executions earlier this month followed an upsurge in convictions in the Specialized Criminal Court. On Tuesday, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri responded to Saudi Arabia’s execution of forty-seven people on terrorism charges by urging Saudis to overthrow their royal family. The January 2 executions continue to stir debate about why the death sentences were carried… Keep reading →
The EU and UN terminate most of their sanctions on Iran, while the US implements more limited changes to its longstanding embargo.
2015 was a rough year for the oil and gas industry.
The end of diplomatic relations between the Persian Gulf’s two major powers following the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr and forty-six others on terrorist charges lead to a fall in oil prices on Monday. Analysts had expected prices to increase as OPEC became embroiled in a sharp division between two of its… Keep reading →
