The threat of a major war in the Middle East has diminished after the latest missile barrage exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. However, Muslim and Israeli extremists are blocking peace talks in Gaza and the long-term settlement of disputes in the region.
Hezbollah fighters can be a dangerous foe, even for one of the world’s best equipped and most prepared armies, the Israel Defense Forces.
From the USA to China and Russia, from India to the Middle East, political leaders are over 70. Can they still make use of their experience to their advantage, or are they unable to adapt and have thus become a source of problems?
Under the Russian presidency, BRICS is getting ready for its biggest summit yet. But the organization that wants an alternative to the Western economic order, has little chance of upsetting it anytime soon.
As the development of trade routes between the West and the East is in full swing, Iran and Turkey risk being overlooked due to their own policies, despite their strategic position between the two regions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has slightly distanced himself from Russia for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, but he has moved closer to the sovereigntists. This "dance" has very much to do with the interest in a post of European Commissioner.
In the recent legislative elections, the regime in Tehran scored a victory and suffered a defeat at the same time. The winners were exactly who the ayatollahs wanted to be, but the turnout was the lowest in the history of the Islamic republic. The victory shows that the regime's ultraconservatives are firmly in control of Iran, but the low turnout indicates a loss of popular support for a regime that has been increasingly challenged in recent years.
Why the year 2024 is a test for liberal democracies around the world and disinformation might be fatal to them.
Hackers stole data from the Romanian Parliament, demanding money for ransom. Such ransomware attacks are launched by both criminals and state actors.
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The US and the UK have bombed targets in Yemen. The operation, aimed at deterring further attacks by the Houthi militia in the Red Sea, could cause an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed, among other things, to establish a direct line of contact. It is a step forward in the bilateral relationship, after years of tensions.
Attacks by pro-Iranian Shiite groups have fueled concerns about an escalation of the war in Gaza. Iran doesn't seem to want a war, but a miscalculation could escalate the situation.
Syria remains a country ravaged by conflict and a deep humanitarian crisis, a place of conflicting interests of multiple state and non-state actors, says the Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria, Dan Stoenescu*. In an interview for TVR and Veridica, Dan Stoenescu explained that, although it doesn’t recognize the Assad regime, the EU keeps communication channels open in order to provide assistance to the Syrian people. The EU official also spoke about the link between the war in Syria and the one in Ukraine.
Israel will not provide Ukraine with weapons lest they should be sold to Iran, according to Kremlin-linked media, which deliberately misquotes former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, the Israeli politician’s statement is taken out of context, while Israel refused to supply weapons to Ukraine for different reasons.
February 25 marked the first military operation ordered by president Joe Biden. US forces bombed targets in Syria used by Iran-led militias. The airstrike has brought back in the limelight a nearly forgotten war, recalling the complexity of this conflict with regional ramifications.
The first steps taken by the Biden administration in the Middle East mark significant changes as compared to the Trump era. The key allies to whom Trump had given a free hand in the region are now given a cold shoulder, while at the same time opening the gate towards a resumption of dialogue with Iran. It remains to be seen, though, how deep these changes are going to be or how long they will take.
The clandestine war against the Iranian nuclear program seems to intensify as Teheran is replenishing its low enriched uranium stocks. Production was resumed in response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. However, it’s not clear whether the ayatollahs are really determined to build a bomb now or they are rather using the threat of a nuclear weapon to get the crippling economic sanctions lifted. The other side is invoking the danger of an atomic bomb, but seems at least as concerned with other Iran related problems that were not addressed by the nuclear deal.
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