Palestinians make their way back to their homes in the ruins of Gaza On February 4, the international community will get to see President Donald Trump wading into the midstream of West Asia’s crisis, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the Oval Office hoping for an opportunity to shape US regional policy. Do you …
Trump bends the arc of history in West Asia – Part II
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (R) met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tel Aviv, January 11, 2025 Trump frogmarches Netanyahu down the deep stairs President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and their key operative in the White House, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, hopelessly underestimated President-elect Donald Trump’s quick reflex action to demolish their …
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Winners and losers in Syria
Ali Larijani, advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Damascus, December, 6, 2024 Iran and Russia are the two big losers in the ouster of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday by the Sunni Islamist groups affiliated to al-Qaeda. Assad fled in the nick of time after giving orders that there be …
The Arabs are transparently displaying their crossover to multi-alignment in a US-led Middle Eastern war
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince, (R), received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Riyadh, Oct. 9, 2024 Reuters reported on Friday quoting three sources in the Persian Gulf that the regional states are lobbying Washington to stop Israel from attacking Iran’s oil sites as “part of their attempts to avoid being caught in the …
Russia has some lessons in democracy
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) congratulated the head of Russia’s Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov on his 80th birthday when he received the Hero of Labour title, Moscow, June 26, 2024 We recently witnessed the pathetic sight that even after 7 decades of independence and experience as a democracy where hundreds of millions of people genuinely feel empowered, …
Russia’s post-war dilemmas in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a meeting of senior diplomats of the foreign ministry, Moscow, June 14, 2024 In regard of the war in Ukraine, Russia’s main challenge going forward is to find the equilibrium between strategic overestimation and underestimation. “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate …
Israel grapples with its “Suez moment”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with newly drafted soldiers, Israel, April 16, 2024 The United States’ diplomatic initiative to issue a joint statement condemning Iran on its “Attack on the State of Israel” has ended in fiasco, as there were hardly any takers for it from outside of the western bloc of nations. This is a …
Gaza War ends. Will Biden get a Nobel?
A destroyed building in Iran’s embassy compound in Tehran hit by an Israeli airstrike on April 1, 2024 Israel’s Damascus strike on April 1 will go down in the corpus of literature on war and diplomacy as an act of high-intensity deception. Iran wouldn’t have expected a cowardly attack using stealth fighters on its diplomatic …
China ignores US entreaties of mediation
Wang Yi, Member of Politbureau of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and director of Central Foreign Affairs Office (3rd from left) met with Jake Sullivan, assistant to US President for National Security (3rd from Right), Bangkok, Jan. 26-27, 2024 There is an old proverb that when misfortunes come, they come in battalions. Coming on top …
Regional opinion urges Iran-Pakistan amity
Unsurprisingly, the eruption of tensions in the Pakistan-Iran diplomatic ties on Tuesday following Tehran’s air strike across the border against Baluchistan is subsiding, which testifies to the political maturity of the two countries. Neither side wants the tensions and both are astute observers of the regional and international environment. Their chosen path of reconciliation becomes …
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