South Caucasus: A battle of wills and corridors

Azerbaijan and Turkiye are gunning to establish the “Zangezur corridor,” in direct conflict with Iran and Armenia’s interests as it entails the blockade of the Lachin corridor – a lifeline for the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Iran-Azerbaijan standoff is a contest for the region’s transportation corridors

Sides are forming around the Iran vs Azerbaijan squabble. But this fight is not about ethnicity, religion or tribe - it is mainly about who gets to forge the region's new transportation routes.

The inside story of Russia-Iran-India connectivity

The G7 is stupefied by the dynamic progress of the multipolar order embodied by the Russian-led INSTC and the Chinese-led BRI, with Iran's strategic port of Chabahar now poised to play a transformative role. 

Turkiye’s not-so-westward facing opposition

Erdogan's main rival in Sunday's ballots says he wants to push integration across West and Central Asia by positioning Turkiye as a 'western' country that looks east

Russian-Turkish ‘co-opetition’ from Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh

At a time when conflicts are increasingly interconnected, and provide tactical levers to assert pressure elsewhere, the competition between Russia-Iran and Turkiye in Syria and the South Caucasus is destined to overlap.

Embassy shooting takes fragile Iran-Azerbaijan ties to the brink

The recent gun attack at Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran may have been exploited by Baku for the benefit of close ally Israel.

Turkiye, Armenia border gate opens for first time in decades for aid transfer

The last time the Alican checkpoint was opened was reportedly in 1988, when the Turkish Red Crescent sent aid to earthquake-hit Armenia

The Gray Wolf returns to Central Asia: Turkey’s ambitions for the region

As a proponent of Pan-Turkism, Ankara is keen on expanding its influence across Central Asia, yet this foreign policy shift is likely to be checked by much bigger regional powers like China, Russia, and Iran.

Why India is arming Armenia against Azerbaijan

Trade routes and national security interests in the South Caucasus are central to New Delhi’s decision to arm Armenia

Turkey, Armenia to hold normalization talks in the near future: Ankara

Armenia and Turkey have been at odds ever since the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which occurred under Turkish Ottoman rule

Can Iran push Russia to action in the South Caucasus?

Moscow and Tehran’s mutual ally, Armenia, is feeling the pressure of NATO-backed Azerbaijan’s assault on its sovereignty. It is in both countries' geopolitical and security interests not to allow Yerevan to fall

Iran in South Caucasus: Turning losses into wins

Determined not to be cut out of the South Caucasus, Iran is forging strategic ties with both Baku and Yerevan

The twists and turns of Erdogan’s foreign policy

A deeply NATO-entrenched Turkey is heading east, but not in the way you think. Erdogan's 'Asia Anew' strategy is all about Turkic primacy, and will likely be at odds with Chinese and Russian-driven integration plans

The Iran-Azerbaijan gas swap deal: Has Tehran’s tough posturing paid off?

The Turkish-supported gas swap deal is not so much a capitulation as a calculated concession from Azerbaijan, which now acknowledges its relationship with Israel as an Iranian red line.

From Panjshir to Baku: Iran’s search for a new hard-power strategy in Eurasia

Iran may be a late comer to Caucasus geopolitics, but it plans to deliver a powerful opening gambit with some new allies in its corner

Woman, Life, Freedom…and NATO

A superpower in decline still retains a vast appetite for irregular, proxy warfare to slow down the imminent multipolar order. Iran, Russia, China are its big targets and all tools will be employed.