... actually do it. The thing is, if we do not see any real steps made in the intra-Afghan process, then the Americans will find it increasingly difficult to put on a happy face. This is what makes the joint call of the special representatives of Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan for foreign troops in Afghanistan to “withdraw in an orderly and responsible manner to ensure a smooth transition” published on May 18, 2020, particularly relevant. Both the government of Afghanistan and U.S. officials have made ...
... many US allies in the region – from Saudi Arabia to Israel – urging the White House to take more steps to stop the growing Iranian presence in the Middle East? Was it a flood of advice from self-proclaimed experts on Iran in Washington, who argued that ... ... regional crisis management mechanism involving Iran and key neighboring Arab starts. Concerned overseas powers – like Russia, China, India, and EU – could assist in building this mechanism working with their respective regional partners. We should regard ...
... others? These are the questions addressed in the RAND think tank's recent
report
"
Fighting Shadows in the Dark. Understanding and Countering Coercion in Cyberspace
". The authors discuss cyber operations conducted by four states — Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — and try to determine whether those activities amounted to cyber coercion.
Starting with the study findings, we will highlight the following points. Cyber operations intended to coerce are a small subset of overall cyber operations ...
... Emirates were attacked by unknown forces when entering the Strait off the coast of Fujairah. On June 13, this time near the Iranian coast, two more tankers flying the flags of the Marshall Islands and Panama were attacked. The incidents occurred against ... ... that the navies of Iran and Saudi Arabia could interact effectively.
Ivan Timofeev:
Tanker Incidents: Who Blinks First?
India, China, and Russia could offer their patrolling services, since both India and China are critically dependent on the energy sources ...
China’s flexible energy policy and the US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela
In the last few years, China’s energy policy has changed radically owing to both the changed priorities in domestic policy and sharp bifurcations in the international situation. As the growth pace of the national economy slowed ...
... accommodating are these businesses to US authorities? Can any other major economy, such as China, assume responsibility for effecting these transformations? Who will be able or... ... modification of sanctions. A case in point is the controversy over lifting sanctions against Iran in 2015.
The Treasury Department is directly responsible for administering sanctions... ... for violations of this kind. Wilful intent, negligence, involvement of management, refusal to come clean, inadequacy of compliance programmes and other factors are seen by...
Any US action in Iran would profoundly benefit China’s interests in Iran and strengthen its position across the region
China’s rise in the Middle East is not simply a case of debt-trap diplomacy or expanding Chinese influence, it requires an ideological shift to accommodate a new regional player ...
... might be hard for New Delhi to diminish South Asian countries’ trade dependence upon China and to shrug-off the increasingly indomitable buccaneering industrial and infrastructural... ... rehabilitation of the Taliban within a prospective Afghan political future and the fomenting US-Iran crisis in the Middle East. Furthermore, the new administration will have to manage... ... Corridor (CPEC) component within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Chinese refusal to allow Indian candidature of NSG membership decoupled from that of Pakistan,...
Russia can do quite a lot at the political level, but it cannot replace Europe as a potential driver of Iran’s economic and social development
On May 8, 2019, Iran sent a message to Germany, Britain, China and Russia that it was suspending the fulfilment of certain obligations under the “Iranian nuclear deal” – the Joint ... ... require a lot of time, the gradual building of confidence, a reduction in hostile rhetoric, contacts between the militaries, a refusal to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, an agreement on the status of foreign armed forces in Syria, and ...
An increased American pressure on Iran makes Tehran even more dependent on major US geopolitical adversaries — China and Russia
The Trump administration has decided to designate
Iran's Islamic Revolution’s Guard Corps (IRGC)
as a foreign terrorist organization. It is the first time when Washington includes into its list of terrorist organizations an official ...
