Azerbaijan’s green shift: Energy transition, COP29 commitments, and US collaboration
Azerbaijan seeks to establish itself as a major actor in the global energy transition space as it prepares to host the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, on November 11-22. COP29 offers many opportunities to improve US-Azerbaijani energy cooperation, including by coordinating the United States’ clean energy technology goals with Azerbaijan’s renewable energy revolution.
Pakistan’s shifting positions on the plight of Palestinians and relations with Israel
It is ironic that Pakistan and Israel are both countries created in the name of religion, at around the same time, and yet they have no formal relations. While Pakistan’s animosity toward Israel is rooted in the displacement of Palestinians, it has also served as a means of burnishing the country’s credentials within the community of Muslim nations and pushing back against India, which maintains increasingly close ties with Israel.
Pezeshkian’s presidency is Khamenei’s Hail Mary moment
It is critical to understand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s plans for the presidency of Masoud Pezeshkian at this moment in time. Changing course is a necessity for a regime beset by a long list of ailments, many of which are rooted in Tehran’s foreign policy choices. For Khamenei, Pezeshkian will not be as much of an instigator of change as he will be an implementor of policy shifts that the leader deems necessary.
مع وصول الشرق الأوسط إلى حافة الهاوية، كيف يمكن للولايات المتحدة إعادة ضبط ردها؟
The Middle East teeters on the precipice of a substantial escalation, threatening to more fully draw in Lebanon, Iran, and perhaps other countries. What happens in the coming days, along with the decisions made by adversaries and allies alike, will determine if that happens.
Israel and the Axis of Resistance in the wake of the Gaza war
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack touched off a destructive war with Israel and a limited but fierce regional conflagration between Israel and the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” with Lebanese Hezbollah at the forefront. The ongoing conflict has been multi-fronted, multi-faceted, dynamic, and already highly consequential. While a clear bottom line remains elusive, exploring the war’s primary origins and evolution offers useful indicators.
Pakistan's Independence Day highlights deepening ideological divide
On Aug. 14, Pakistan celebrated its 78th Independence Day against the backdrop of a widening ideological and societal divide between proponents of Islamic nationalism and those championing democracy. Seizing the occasion, both the military and political leaders, recognizing Pakistan’s vulnerability to political instability and eroding social cohesion, have sought to shape the national discourse and sway public opinion with their respective narratives.
As the Middle East becomes more autonomous and empowered domestically, the leaders in the region might consider more synergetic relations with each other and prepare national long-term plans that provide a balanced and integrated approach to social, technological, environmental, economic, and political development and progress.
Masoud Pezeshkian assumed office as Iran’s president during a period of crisis. The evening after his inauguration, Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who cheered on the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, in a Tehran guesthouse. Whereas some Western media outlets hailed Pezeshkian’s arrival by dubbing him as a “liberalizer” whose administration foreign actors are trying to spoil, his choices for cabinet and executive positions reflect the limitations of the power of the presidency.
باكستان والشرق الأوسط: النهج المتطور تجاه أفغانستان
لطالما كانت أفغانستان ساحة للمنافسات بالوكالة بين القوى الإقليمية، التي اتبعت سياسات متباينة تجاه أفغانستان على مدى العقود الماضية من الاحتلال الأجنبي، وتقوم بذلك مرة أخرى الآن في ظل سيطرة طالبان المتجددة على البلاد.
Djibouti dodges scrutiny despite China, Iran, Houthi ties and links to illicit activities
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aden, is a crucial chokepoint for global maritime commerce. Despite the strait’s importance, the waters around it have long been plied by smugglers of weapons and other illicit goods. Djibouti today is an important player in trade in the Horn of Africa region, but it also serves as a conduit for Chinese influence, has been linked to malign actors like Iran and the Houthis, and has faced allegations of involvement in various grey and black market activities, including money laundering, illicit finance, oil smuggling, and weapons trafficking.
