When the Ottoman Empire was dismantled in 1922, it created a vacuum which a series of powers have attempted to fill ever since. None has succeeded, and the result has been a century of wars, coups and instability. Iran ruled all these lands before the Arab and Ottoman conquests. It could do so...
Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan, the wise ones say. I would add that failure suddenly gets you dumped like a hot potato in the hands of your benefactors. You don’t believe me? Just ask the Libyan has-been, Khalifa Haftar, at one time considered the best game in town by his...
We are told we live in an era of strongmen. The narrative also runs that these strongmen stick together. From the cozy relationship between China and Russia at the UN Security Council — led by Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin — to the mutual support of the likes of Saudi Crown Prince...
There was a time, not so long ago, when the idea of Turkish troops placing their boots on non-Turkish soil was almost unthinkable. Turkey might bomb Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in Iraq, Turkish aircraft might skirmish occasionally with Greek counterparts, but no one got their boots...
The wave of unrest that has swept through Iraq has gone from protest to violence, creating tension in the region. The demonstrations, which were initially motivated by discontent over the country’s economic stagnation and rampant government corruption, quickly devolved into chaos....
Attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman are an effort to signal to the rest of the world that no one is beyond Iran’s reach. There is a tendency in Western policymaking circles to view the consequences of Iran’s actions as being confined to the Middle East. Recent attacks on oil...
Iran’s attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were a sacrifice to lure Washington into a draw. Iran’s botched operation in the Strait of Hormuz, in which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy nearly got caught in the act of mining two tankers, brought the world to the brink...
Naming and shaming the Muslim Brotherhood, at considerable diplomatic and social cost and for little discernible benefit, is a policy idea that should never be allowed to see the light of day. It’s a muggy summer morning in Washington, and the United States has just named the Muslim...
Disregarding the vital role of Iran’s non-Persian minorities can only divide and weaken the opposition, leaving it with insufficient support to challenge or overthrow the current regime. Throughout history, dictators and authoritarians have expended great efforts in presenting their nations...
Employing a mix of common sense, calculated gambles and good business practice to hold the high ground, Qatar has emerged the clear winner in the battle of the airlines. When its Gulf neighbors — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, joined by Egypt — launched a land, air and...
At this critical crossroads, Iran needs a glasnost, a spirit of openness and dialogue that would allow society to air its grievances and to move closer to consensus. With bread and butter issues a priority, Iranian demands for political dynamism have been obfuscated amidst the country’s...
Since when has a religious security alliance ever achieved peace and understanding in this or any other part of the world? The Trump administration has resurrected the notion of forming an “Arab NATO,” the principal missions of which would be to confront a resurgent Iran and to relieve the...
Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal only serves the interests of the radical conservatives in Iran. President Donald J. Trump has consistently engineered chaos inside the government and within the American society in order to establish norms and rules that...
Time and history may be moving in Iran’s direction when it comes to its ambition to fill the power vacuum in the Middle East. On February 10, at the end of an extraordinarily violent week, the Israeli military shot down an Iranian drone that crossed into Israeli airspace, and then bombed the...
Both Iran and Saudi Arabia embarking on economic transformation of their respective economies will benefit not just their own citizens but the wider region as well. Notwithstanding the entrenched animosity between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is possible that Iranian regional...
