... Islamisation who had come to power gradually began to distance themselves from “Zionist education”. Erdogan ostentatiously welcomed Hamas leader Khaled Mashal as an honoured guest in Ankara, declared the possibility of normalising relations with Iran, and condemned the Israeli military’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza (27 December 2008 – 19 January 2009).
www.lahdat-news.com
MV Mavi Marmara
The pretext for the effective break in diplomatic relations was the incident involving the MV ...
On December 21, 2015 the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted new Director of the Iran Eurasia Studies Institute (IRAS) Dr. Davoud Kiani to discuss promising venues and formats of cooperation between RIAC and IRAS.
RIAC Director General Andrei Kortunov outlined the interests and resources of the Council in the work with the Iranian ...
... cuts both ways: combatting extremism coexists with a sceptical attitude towards projects in which Russia and China play an active role.
REUTERS/RIA Novosti
Armenian Experts’ Debate:
“Membership in the EEU in Exchange for
Security”
Iran
Growing influence in the region may fall to Iran. While sanctions caused considerable damages to Iran’s economy, they also encouraged the country to concentrate on industrialization and technological modernization, since it could no longer ...
... myopic side, you have Putin thinking that risking the ire of almost all the Sunni governments, Sunni people, and Sunni jihadists by helping Shiite Alawite Assad massacre mainly Sunni rebels and civilians with the help of Shiite Hezbollah and Shiite Iran just for Russia's having a naval base on Syria’s coast and a few new bases inside Syria as well as a client in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who accounts for roughly 10% of global Russian arms sales is worth it (oh, and there’s ...
... the flow of radical ideas, terrorist fighters and recruiters into the Caucasus and Central Asia can make Russia particularly vulnerable.
Before the Arab Spring Russia managed to build relationships with different players in the Middle East, including Iran, Israel, a number of Arab states, Hamas and Hezbollah. Under today's conditions of deepening interstate and inter-confessional confrontation in the Middle East, the problem of conflicting interests has become very acute for the Russian policy makers....
... it has attracted, but also in terms of the staggering variety of foreign troops officially and unofficially operating on Syrian territory. This comes at a time when the long-term regional role of key players such as the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, remains up in the air. This report aims to remedy this communication lacuna by furnishing readers with Russian and GCC perspectives on the issue, delivered by researchers specializing in Gulf strategic issues.
Introduction
The Syrian conflict continues ...
... think in the upcoming few days or weeks Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch airstrikes and that depends on their success in Syria,” said Hakim al-Zamili, who chairs Iraq’s parliamentary committee on defense and security.
Source:
IRAN DAILY
October 2015
1. Introduction
In July 2015, the P5 + 1 countries reached a deal on the Iranian nuclear program and on the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on Iran. This important development in Middle Eastern strategy led to extensive commentary from many different stakeholders, including the governments of the United States, Israel,...
... been the Assad regime: though secular in ideology (Ba'athist), it is headed by Arab Alawite (a sect of Shiite Islam that is a small minority in Syria) Bashar al-Assad and is controlled mainly by Alawate Shiites. It is backed by Shiite Persian Iranians and the Arab Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Sunni Muslims, in general, do not like Shiites, and that is an understatement; many Sunnis do not even consider Shiites to be Muslims. That is why so much money from rich Gulf countries like Saudi ...
... broad statements about the end of the era of high oil prices and the transition to fundamentally new types of energy.
This anxiety has chiefly been caused by the numerous unexpected events in July and August, which saw the lifting of sanctions against Iran, disappointment in the pace of growth in the Chinese economy, the situation in the Middle East, and OPEC member countries’ policy. Meanwhile, the oil price is a key factor determining the economic development of many countries, including Russia,...
