China Can Help Accelerate Stalled Iran-Pakistan Pipeline

China Can Help Accelerate Stalled Iran-Pakistan Pipeline

Iranian officials have expressed their concern over the fact that the construction of a bilateral Iran-Pakistan pipeline has stalled from the Pakistani side. While the Iranian side is nearly complete, Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh has stated that if Pakistan refuses to re-start construction on its side of the border, Iran will have no choice…

The US-ISIS Nexus in Afghanistan Becomes Hot Topic

The US-ISIS Nexus in Afghanistan Becomes Hot Topic

Tehran has begun highlighting in loud decibel its hitherto-low key voice of disquiet that the United States is transferring the Islamic State* fighters from Syria and Iraq, where they have been defeated, to Afghanistan. On January 30, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said: “The US goal of transferring the ISIL terrorists to Afghanistan is aimed…

Washington’s ‘Crackpot’ Nuclear Posture Endangers the World to an Alarming Degree

Washington’s ‘Crackpot’ Nuclear Posture Endangers the World to an Alarming Degree

Washington’s latest Nuclear Posture Review imperils global security in three ways: it inflates perceived threats to the US, it conflates conventional & nuclear war and it pushes for the development of low-yield nuclear weapons. These three new moments in US policy increase the risk of nuclear war rather than lowering it, as American Defense Secretary…

German Mideast Arms Exports: Full Freeze or Geopolitical Game?

German Mideast Arms Exports: Full Freeze or Geopolitical Game?

Germany’s recently decided to freeze arms exports to Turkey as well as to the countries involved in the War on Yemen. This latest step was taken in response to “Operation Olive Branch” while the earlier one was due to the rising grassroots pressure on Berlin to distance itself from the Saudis’ disastrous military campaign. The…

Trump Considers “Bloody Nose” Strike on North Korea

Trump Considers “Bloody Nose” Strike on North Korea

The Trump administration, or a powerful military-intelligence faction within it, is pushing for a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea, in the wake of, or possibly even during, the Winter Olympics due to start in South Korea on Friday. The “bloody nose” option—a limited attack on the North Korean nuclear missile arsenal and infrastructure—is supposed…