TEHRAN: The navies of Iran, Russia and China will hold military drills off the coast of Iran this week in a bid to boost cooperation, Iranian media reported on Sunday (Mar 9). The three countries, which share a common desire to counter what they characterise as American hegemony, have held similarContinue Reading
Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are all typically seen as the largest threats to the U.S., but to what extent the public prioritizes these threats is less clear. The four have the independent means to threaten U.S. interests regionally, if not globally, while greater cooperation across the four createsContinue Reading
On February 4, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order reimposing “maximum pressure” on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The anti-Iran campaign is intended to deprive the country of any financial gain, including oil exports, port operations, and ancillary industries. Under the order, the U.S.Continue Reading
From cautious concern to doomsday predictions, the U.S.-China Security and Review Commission (USCC) heard testimony on February 20 that broadly addressed one question: Is China a partner in an “Axis of Autocracy,” alongside the other major autocratic countries of Iran, North Korea, and Russia? Interestingly, the scope of the Commission’sContinue Reading
To apply “maximum pressure” on Iran to “end its nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program and stop its support for terrorist groups,” U.S. President Donald Trump signed a Memorandum in early February to “modify or rescind sanctions waivers, particularly those that provide Iran any degree of economic or financialContinue Reading
Turkmenistan has among the world’s largest gas reserves, but the land-locked country’s main customer is China and exports are limited by existing infrastructure. Ashgabat is perpetually desperate for new customers, swaps, and pipelines, as I noted in a piece for The Diplomat Magazine in January, and a recently announced dealContinue Reading
Iran is currently undergoing a period of strategic reorientation. It faces energy and economic crises and its regional ascent has been reversed by events in Syria and Israel’s weakening of Hezbollah. Tensions with the United States could also soon intensify, with the Trump administration signaling a return to the “maximumContinue Reading
The recent policy shifts undertaken by newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump have significant implications for India, particularly concerning the Chabahar Port in Iran. The Trump administration’s decision to modify or rescind India’s sanctions waiver for the port project represents a strategic move to exert “maximum pressure” on Iran. ThisContinue Reading
A commercial port near Shanghai recently welcomed two Iranian vessels tasked with picking up over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate – a key precursor for the production of solid fuel ballistic missiles. While it seems clear that Iran will use this sodium perchlorate to build ballistic missiles, who these missilesContinue Reading
The rapid rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese generative AI platform, heightened concerns this week over the United States’ AI dominance as Americans increasingly adopt Chinese-owned digital services. With ongoing criticism over alleged security issues posed by TikTok’s relationship to China, DeepSeek’s own privacy policy confirms that it stores user dataContinue Reading
