Summary
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gonul Tol, Alex Vatanka, Charles Schmitz, and Robert S. Ford provide analysis on current issues including Turkey’s regional diplomacy as President Erdogan is set to visit Tehran, the Iranian perspective on Turkey’s role in the region, Secretary Kerry’s visit to Saudi Arabia amid renewed fighting in Yemen, and ongoing attempts to broker a cease-fire deal in Syria.
Read the full aritcle on The National Interest.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Zubair Iqbal, Alex Vatanka, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on issues including India’s Middle East policy as its foreign minister is set to visit Iraq and Syria, the opening of relations between Iran and Turkey following the latter’s recent failed coup, and the latest signs of tension within Afghanistan’s shaky unity government.
Summary
In this week’s Monday Briefing MEI experts provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Turkish President Erdogan’s trip to Russia tomorrow, Iranian President Rouhani’s upcoming meeting with President Putin in Baku, the ongoing battle for Aleppo, strains in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the Haqqani Network, and what’s next for Tunisia’s political transition following the vote of no confidence in the current government.
U.S.-European nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in 2011 resulted in a major reduction of Japanese crude oil imports from Iran, which were largely offset by increased purchases from other Middle Eastern producers. This pattern remained more or less intact through the end of 2015.[1]
South Korea is the world’s fifth-largest crude oil importer and sixth-largest oil refining country. In June 2012, South Korea suspended all oil imports from Iran in response to a European Union insurance ban on tankers carrying Iranian crude oil.[1] South Korea subsequently obtained a waiver and resumed importing Iranian crude oil. However, the average annual volume of crude oil purchased by South Korea from Iran during the period 2012-2015 was 40% lower than in 2011.
When U.S. and European nuclear-related sanctions against Iran took effect in 2011, India was compelled to reduce its crude oil imports from Iran and to diversify its sources of supply.[1] As a result, the country’s crude oil imports from Iran dropped by 1.33% and 37.81% in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
This paper is part of a MEI scholar series titled “The Middle East and the 2016 Presidential Elections.”
Summary
Summary
The current Palestinian leadership does not appear ready for sudden independence. Despite the push for Palestinian statehood, there remains weaknesses in the Palestinian political establishment that undermine this quest. Political and social fragmentation, a lack of representative leadership and an inability to apply the rule of law seem to indicate that if Palestine were to become an independent state tomorrow, it would falter.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Daniel Serwer, Alex Vatanka, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the recent Chilcot Report, European trade delegations visit to Iran, and France’s push to end the Lebanon stalemate.
Will Chilcot Report Impact U.S. Policy on Syria?
Daniel Serwer, MEI Scholar
The walls of the Oman Library are decorated with delicate painted eyes, colored in hazel and warm greys. After only a few steps, their discreet, and grief-stricken nature gives way to boldness and haunting certainty. They are eyes that refuse to be ignored.
