The Folly of Iran’s Hard-Liners

A Repressive Regime Has Left Citizens With No Option but Revolt

Iran is no stranger to mass protests, but the demonstrations sparked by the killing in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by the so-called morality police, signal a tipping point. For weeks now, Iranian women have shown extraordinary courage and a willingness to resist security forces in schools, in the streets, and in every other corner of the public sphere. They have stood bravely in intersections, marched down major thoroughfares, occupied squares, and erupted in chants at school assemblies, removing their headscarves in defiance of the strictures of the state. Their dogged resistance in the face of brutal crackdowns and arrests augurs the beginning of protracted protests throughout the country. In effect, every woman’s veil has been transformed, becoming a symbolic weapon against the regime, a unifying cause connecting all segments of the society, and a tool to galvanize global support.

Ukraine’s Path to Victory

How the Country Can Take Back All Its Territory

or too long, the global democratic coalition supporting Kyiv has focused on what it should not do in the invasion of Ukraine. Its main aims include not letting Ukraine lose and not letting Russian President Vladimir Putin win—but also not allowing the war to escalate to a point where Russia attacks a NATO country or conducts a nuclear strike. These, however, are less goals than vague intentions, and they reflect the West’s deep confusion about how the conflict should end. More than seven months into the war, the United States and Europe still lack a positive vision for Ukraine’s future.

Algeria, European Union Call for Increased Energy Cooperation

The Algeria-EU Energy Business Forum kicked off on Tuesday with the participation of Algerian Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane, Energy and Mines Minister Mohamed Arkab, the European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and some 100 European and Algerian energy businessmen and investors.

IS Relies on Extortion in Eastern Syria to Raise Funds

Militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group are increasingly relying on money raised by extortion of local communities in eastern Syria to fund their terror activity, local officials said.

The practice has largely been taking place in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, according to military officials with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a military alliance that has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against IS.

How the war in Ukraine has remade Europe

For Europe, Ukraine is the good war — a moment when brave Ukrainian patriots have partially rolled back a brutal Russian invasion and, in the process, reignited belief in the values of democracy and common defense.

As Ukrainian troops surged forward on the ground this week, European leaders who gathered at a conference here were heady with what many described as an impending Ukrainian triumph over Russian President Vladimir Putin and the lawless, autocratic system he represents.

Pushing back against Putin’s threat of nuclear use in Ukraine

Seven and a half months after it began, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has not gone as the Kremlin had hoped. The Ukrainian military has resisted with skill and tenacity, in recent weeks clawing back territory in the country’s south and east. As the Russian invasion falters, concern has arisen that Putin might turn to nuclear weapons.

How Far Will Xi Go to Help a Desperate Putin?

Cracks have emerged in their marriage of convenience, but the two autocrats are in it for the long haul.

Anyone who has been in a relationship knows there are good days and not so good days. While trust and respect are the bedrock of healthy partnerships, transactional and even toxic relationships have proven, time and again, to be just as durable. Sometimes more so. That is why Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s marriage of convenience will endure, not despite Russia’s recent battlefield setbacks, but because of them.

US to ‘reevaluate’ relationship with Saudi Arabia after OPEC move

The White House has nodded to calls among Democrats in Congress for a reappraisal of Washington’s seven decades of support to the kingdom.

The White House will “reevaluate” the United States’ relationship with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced cuts to oil production last week in line with Russia’s strategic interests and ahead of key midterm elections in the United States.

Weaponised Drones – the Latest Tech Threat to Reach Africa

As evidence grows of drones being used by terrorists and other criminals, governments should consider regulating the industry.

Drones have for some time been used by regular armed forces on Africa’s battlefields, such as in Ethiopia and Mali. But now they’re increasingly being deployed by terrorists – sparking a global sense of urgency.

The Coming Chinese Weapons Boom

Beijing is Poised to Dominate the Low End of the Arms Market

Shortly after Russia’s annual military expo concluded in August, Alexander Mikheyev, the head of the country’s state arms export agency, predicted that revenues from Russian arms exports in 2022 would be down 26 percent from last year. Russia remains the world’s second-largest arms exporter after the United States, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute; it would take a far larger drop in revenues to change that. But it has become clear that since Moscow’s disastrous decision to invade Ukraine in February, the Russian military’s need to replace its own equipment, U.S.-led sanctions, and buyers’ concerns about Russian equipment’s performance on the battlefield have reduced Russia’s ability to export weapons.