Iran’s Khuzestan Arabs

by Scheherezade Faramarzi The September gunfire assault on a military parade in the predominantly Arab Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran and the alleged Iranian retaliatory assassination plot in Denmark shed rare light on the plight of Khuzestan’s estimated four million… Continue Reading

Attacks in Azerbaijan: Manipulation of a “Shiite Threat” and Iran

 by Eldar Mamedov Highly unusual events have been rocking the small, but strategically important Caspian nation of Azerbaijan during the last week. An attempt on the life of Elmar Veliyev, the mayor of the nation´s second city, Ganja, took place… Continue Reading

European Parliament Calls for Sanctions against Bahrain

by Eldar Mamedov On June 14, the European Parliament has adopted, with an overwhelming majority, a strongly worded resolution condemning Bahrain for human rights violations. The immediate trigger for the resolution was the sentencing of Nabeel Rajab, a prominent Bahraini… Continue Reading

The Middle East in Trump’s Wake

by Emile Nakhleh As President Donald Trump revels in his diplomatic foray into North Korea, he doesn’t have any comparable diplomatic “success” in the Middle East. None of the optimistic promises he made upon assuming office in January 2017 regarding… Continue Reading

Saudi Arabia’s Desperate Alliance Moves

by Javad Heiran-Nia The establishment of security pacts and alliances among countries demands high levels of cooperation from its member to deal effectively with different threats. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, for instance, have called for an “Arab NATO” to “wipe terrorism… Continue Reading