Another wave of Western provocations cannot harm the Iranian regime. Instead of rapprochement with the West in order to ease the burden of anti-Iranian sanctions and to push its conditions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran chose to increase its engagement with Russia and China after the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. This situation has brought the JCPOA negotiations in Vienna to a standstill. Consultations on the nuclear deal are in intensive therapy mode at best. Despite unprecedented pressure on Tehran and its economy from Western governments, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his clerics and military…

On May 10, an earlier announced meeting of the foreign ministers of the Astana format participants – Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria – took place in Moscow. It should be noted that this summit of representatives of the Quartet took the baton from the heads of defense departments. The latter shows that Russia, as the initiator of the Middle East dialogue on the settlement of the Syrian crisis, demonstrates a systematic approach covering all important aspects of the remaining contradictions between Damascus and Ankara. Accordingly, the meetings of the heads…

Due to the fact that oil is always a geopolitical factor, history over the last century demonstrates that there is no such thing as little oil. Many new conflicts have occurred commencing from the beginning of the 20th century as a result of oil. And today, oil still plays a solely geopolitical role in the conflict between the parties, with the ability to rekindle both small-scale and major wars. One of the few nations with significant oil reserves is Iran. Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the world, with reserves that account for 13.5% of global oil reserves. Ahvaz, Marun, Aghajari, Gachsaran, Karanj, Bangestan…

Despite decades of sanctions imposed by foreign powers, the Islamic Republic of Iran has garnered tremendous experience surviving and thriving in isolation. Given Tehran’s political system, which is not so much a theocratic form of government as an independent course, is under attack by Iran’s adversaries, the Iranian authorities have prioritized the strengthening of their army and navy. In order to do this, a lot of attention is put on the development of key technologies, mainly in the defense industry, as well as the advancement of education and research. For many foreign experts it was a revelation that it turns out that Iran has achieved…

The US system of checks and balances began to disintegrate after the military situation in Ukraine erupted in February 2022. This is particularly noticeable in the energy sector. Therefore, while one-off agreements involving Qatar have partially replaced Russia’s portion of the LNG needed by Europe, the situation with Saudi Arabia remains unclear. During his visit to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2022, US President Joe Biden was unable to persuade the Saudis to boost oil production within the framework of OPEC+, resulting in the extension of the Russian-Saudi quotas until May 2023. Simultaneously, in March…

Peace settlements are filled with contradictions, which are necessary for motion. In their turn, the Middle East and the South Caucasus have a long history of contradictions (historical, ethno-religious, economic, and political), which can spark new wars. Peace in a complex region can usually be maintained by a balance of forces and interests, with the dominant nations playing an essential role. Iran holds a special place in this political geography as the exponent of centuries-old Persian civilization, the flagship…

A methodical, deliberate approach has been a hallmark of Chinese diplomacy for a millennia, and the outcomes of its actions are calculated over a considerable amount of time. In recent years, China has generally been assessed by experts as a country that has achieved breakthrough technological and economic development, the initiator of the global…

Now, it is abundantly clear that the United States’ dishonest and aggressive Middle East strategy, which is at odds with the aspirations of the Arab world, has utterly failed. The establishment of a multipolar world by Russia, China, and Iran was a significant milestone in this process. The convergence of these three nations and the global support for this new diplomatic triangle…

This was inevitable. When the US started to strategically withdraw from the Middle East and shifted its focus towards Southeast Asia and (Eastern) Europe to contain its two rivals (China and Russia), the Middle East was left without a traditional balancer. Without making an orientalist argument and arguing that the Middle East always needed an external ‘balancer’…

According to a joint statement issued following talks in Beijing, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies. It also confirmed the two parties’ agreement to mutual sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s affairs. According to the statement, the two countries agreed to reopen their embassies within two months, while the foreign…

On February 27, 2023, the US State Department released a report in which the US left North Korea on the 2021 list of countries sponsoring terrorism. The other two were Iran and Syria. As noted in the report, North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism. In particular, Pyongyang harbors four members of the Japanese Red Army…

Only two months have passed since the beginning of the new year 2023, and it has already turned out to be eventful in the ongoing latent conflict between Israel and Iran, ready to break out at any minute through the fault of Tel Aviv, which is incessantly preparing to attack Iranian territory without concealing it. An Israeli airstrike has just killed five people and damaged several buildings in the Syrian capital Damascus...