Flying through Afghan airspace is proving to be the safest option for international airlines, with Iran’s missile bombardment of Israel causing a noticeable shift in flight patterns The number of international flights passing through Taliban-controlled Afghan airspace reached a record high this week in the aftermath of Iran’s missile attack against Israel. On Thursday, a record 191 flights passed over […]

Khudanoor Lajai, a brilliant young Baloch man killed by the Iranian regime, is one of the symbols of the uprising against the Islamic Republic of Iran. On September 30, 2022, Lajai joined the Zahedan protests against the Islamic regime that resulted in the “Bloody Friday.”[1] A day later he quarreled with IRGC personnel and was shot at close range. Family […]

Iran has stepped up efforts to deport Afghan migrants and said that by the end of March next year, two million undocumented migrants will be “expelled” from the country. According to Iranian media reports, Ahmad Reza Radan, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s law enforcement, stated that “over 750,000 illegal migrants” have already been deported from Iran, and this number will total […]

From the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi army and the Gulf War, to 9/11 and the temporary fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan by the U.S., and the invasion of Iraq leading to the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, handing Iraq over on a silver platter to the Quds Force and its organized networks, the Iranian regime has […]

Iran’s military has built a wall along more than 10 kilometers of its eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for immigrants, Iranian media reported Monday. “More than 10 kilometers of walls have been built on the border and another 50 kilometers is ready to be walled off,” ISNA news agency said, citing General Nozar Nemati, deputy commander of […]

For most of its just over 30 years of independence, Turkmenistan has been left out of discussions on Central Asia as well as both north-south and east-west transportation routes linking the region to the rest of the world. Over the last two years, however, the situation has changed dramatically as Ashgabat has opened up and assumed a more active role […]

It is ironic that Pakistan and Israel are both countries created in the name of religion, at around the same time (in 1947 and 1948, respectively), and yet they have no formal relations. All Pakistani passports include the inscription that the document is valid for travel to all countries around the world, except Israel. While Pakistan’s animosity toward Israel is […]

It’s unrealistic that China would ever abandon its investments in Russia or Pakistan, but those two’s connectivity roles for it vis-à-vis the EU and West Asia/Africa respectively can be complemented by Turkey and Iran via the Middle Corridor. Up until the beginning of this year, China’s grand strategy was to rely on a network of connectivity corridors across its Belt […]

While China expresses public support for Iran’s right to “defend its sovereignty,” Beijing’s assertive rhetoric belies deep-seated anxiety surrounding the possibility of a wider regional conflict erupting. Not long after Iran vowed revenge against Israel following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took to the phone and told his Iranian counterpart, Ali […]

After the tragic helicopter crash on May 19, in which President Ebrahim Raisi and his associates lost their lives, and the subsequent period of mourning, Iran has begun to look toward the future. Despite the shocking loss of high-ranking state officials, the challenging geopolitical situation in the world requires competent and responsible Iranian leadership that cannot afford major mistakes. In […]