Iran’s Chabahar Port on the Gulf of Oman represents the crowning achievement of Indo-Iranian cooperation in recent decades. The port itself represents the centre of the wider North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) which will link India to Russia and the wider north-western Eurasian space via Iran and Azerbaijan. While under Premier Narendra Modi, India has sought to…
The Saudi-led coalition has set its sights on the coastal town of Hodeidah through which the vast majority of the aid that provides the sustenance for over 20 million people traverses, dangerously risking an exacerbation of what’s been described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The over three-year-long conflict that has pitted the Kingdom and…
The Syrian forces continue their offensive in southwestern Syria, in the Daraa Governorate. At first the attack was somewhat spontaneous in nature, since the pro-Iranian units began armed hostilities without receiving consent from the Russian troops first. Up until 23 June, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) had not taken part in the offensive, which explains…
The more I think about a Trump-Putin summit, the more I believe that it should focus on Syria. If reports this morning are true (which they likely are not), that Trump doesn’t want to run in 2020 but would rather get the job done, whatever that means, in one term, then this is absolutely the…
The predictions have come true about the emergence of a new defense group that will change the European security environment. On June 25, the defense chiefs from nine EU countries signed off on the creation of a new force called the European Intervention Initiative (EII), which is spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron. The new organization will have a…
NATO outpost in the Caucasus? Georgia’s pro-Western course is in many respects a left-over from the 1990s, when alignment with the West and membership in its institutions was actively promoted as a cure-all for every problem ailing the country. Georgia’s leaders continue to place their hopes in their country’s eventual admission into NATO, and are…
