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 …
Iran to hit Israel hard with smart power
Mourners gathered at the Imam Muhammad Abd-al Wahhab Mosque for Friday prayers before the burial of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Doha, Qatar, August 2, 2024 Amidst the cascading tensions in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by Israel and vows of ‘revenge’ in Tehran, the new government under President Massoud …
Death of petrodollar is a Biden legacy
US President Joe Biden fist bumps Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon arrival for a high-stakes visit, July 15, 2022 The Deep State should have been alert five years ago when Candidate Joe Biden announced that he, if elected as president, was determined to make the Saudi rulers “pay the price, and make them …
Decoding Iran’s missile, drone strikes
The building described as ‘Mossad Headquarters’ in Iraqi Kurdistan with underground facilities for conducting covert operations hit by Iranian missile attack, Erbil, Northern Iraq, January 15, 2024 The stunning missile and drone strikes on three countries — Syria, Iraq and Pakistan — over a period of 24 hours and Tehran taking the extraordinary step of …
India gets a rude awakening in West Asia
Britain’s HMS Diamond deploys missiles to attack Yemen From the standpoint of affirming ‘solidarity’ with the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the October 7 attack, India has swung away to the far horizon and has unceremoniously dumped the US-Israeli axis, which provided beacon light to Delhi’s West Asian policies in the past few …
US diplomacy lost traction in Middle East. Isolating Iran no longer possible.
Russia’s Dy Foreign Minister & Special Envoy Mikhail Bogdanov (C) held talks with Iran’s Dy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Hamas’ head of International Relations Mousa Marzouk, Moscow, Oct. 26, 2023 The US President Joe Biden is convinced that one of the reasons why Hamas launched the attack on Israel was because of the …
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No takers for a West Asian war but war seems inevitable
For the first time since Gaza crisis began, Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Baqeri engaged with Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on October 19, 2023. There is no question that smart power enhances foreign policy. Since the notion of “smart power” entered international diplomacy some two decades ago, a major regional power, …
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US faces defeat in geopolitical war in Gaza
China’s Special Envoy on Middle East Zhai Jun met the envoys of Arab states in Beijing at the latter’s request for a group meeting to discuss the grave situation in Gaza, Beijing, October 13, 2023 One hundred years after the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) against the ruling Ottoman Turks amidst the impending defeat of Germany and the …
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India-Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor is a geopolitical pipe dream
The gusto with which the United States co-opted the idea of an India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor [IMEC] during the recent G20 Summit should not come as a surprise. It brings to mind an astounding natural phenomenon in the northern desert of Saudi Arabia — a little purple flower that blooms very rarely, …
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Palestine is ripe for Chinese mediation
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) with the visiting Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, Beijing, 18th July, 2017 The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken drew a blank in Riyadh in his mission to coax Saudi Arabia to grant diplomatic recognition to Israel and resuscitate the moribund Abraham Accord. The Saudi stance is unwavering: a two-state solution …