Category: Iran
-
The Alternate-Universe Version of Trump’s Executive Putsch
Politics / September 24, 2025 What would a Democratic presidency armed with Trump’s limitless power look like? President Donald Trump displays his executive order establishing the Trump Card for HB-1 visa applicants at the Oval Office on September 19. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images) For the past eight months, the Trump administration has been turning…
-
Navigating Tensions: The Implications of Trump’s Tariffs on India–US Ties
In an escalatory move amid tensions between the United States and India, US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports to the United States, citing India’s continuous oil purchases from Russia. India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China. Trump also recently urged the EU to impose up to 100% tariffs…
-
China, Russia, India and North Korea at the 2025 SCO Summit: A Symbolic Alignment Toward Multipolarity
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, 2025, and followed by a military parade in Beijing on September 3, represented a moment of exceptional symbolic significance in international affairs and signaled the emergence of a new global order. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin,…
-
China’s new missiles on parade: showpieces or showstoppers?
Armored vehicles in a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025, in Beijing, China. Lintao Zhang / Getty Images For China’s People’s Liberation Army, massive parades like the recent celebration of the 80th anniversary of victory in World…
-
The evolution of Malaysian foreign policy
Malaysia’s approach in navigating great power rivalry since the Cold War has largely been based on the principles of non-alignment, neutralism, and equidistance. However, two contrasting snapshots of the country’s Independence (Merdeka) Day celebration – half a century apart – offer an interesting perspective on whether Malaysia’s contemporary position has shifted away from these principles.…
-
Putin is escalating Russia’s hybrid war against Europe. Is Europe ready?
Russia and Belarus conducted large-scale military exercises in mid-September as the Kremlin sought to put on a show of strength close to NATO’s eastern flank. The Zapad-2025 exercises were part of broader Russian efforts to test NATO’s political and military reactions while sowing fear and uncertainty among the European population. Although billed as defensive, the…
-
A geography of protest: Inside the rise of Iran’s minority factor
In the wake of June’s Twelve Day War between Israel, Iran and the United States, the role of ethnicity in shaping political mobilization and activism in Iran remains a particularly important issue. In recent years, the ethnic question has emerged as a saliently significant—though often under-examined—dimension of Iran’s domestic politics. While ethnicity has long played…
-
Iran’s minorities and policy complexity: A look at two communities
This summer, a US-backed campaign aimed at Iranian regime change seemed possible. While that is now unlikely, further covert operations by Israel remain probable, and future US involvement is not out of the question. Iran plays a significant role in Middle Eastern geopolitics, so even barring dramatic near-term action, policymakers should develop and maintain a…
-
The D Brief: China’s global challenge; NATO on Russian incursions; Estonia’s requests; Germany’s big arms plan; And a bit more.
China’s accumulation of military facilities and partnerships beyond the Indo-Pacific region mean U.S. forces must innovate more urgently, air and space intelligence officials said Monday. “The China challenge is not just a challenge for INDOPACOM,” Lt. Gen. Max Pearson, Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, said during a panel discussion at AFA’s Air,…
-
Trump says UN has ‘tremendous, tremendous potential’ but it needs to learn real peace-making from him
President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations on Tuesday to boast of his second-term foreign policy achievements and lash out at the world body as a feckless institution. World leaders listened closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight…
