China syndrome
IN 2011, the term ‘Asian Pivot’ first entered the American political lexicon. This was the name given to the US plan to refocus on ties with East Asian states and…
Mattis in Asia, fixing Trump-rattled relationships one by one
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis spent four days in East Asia trying to keep on the rails key relationships - two friendly, one adversarial - that his boss President Donald…
A loose cannon supreme leader
Hell hath no fury like Nawaz Sharif ousted from power. Disqualified in a Panama Papers scandal related case and facing corruption references in a NAB accountability court, he has been…
Iran’s Guards seen economic winner from tougher Trump stance
Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a military force with political clout and an industrial empire, stands to benefit from heightened tension between Washington and Tehran, officials and analysts said.…
Reviving the peace talks
Following an informal meeting between the Taliban’s Qatar office representatives and the US chief negotiator Zalmay Kahlilzad in Islamabad, both sides have shown willingness to revive the stalled peace talks.…
UAE scales down military presence in Yemen as Gulf tensions flare
The United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, is scaling back its military presence there as worsening US-Iran tensions threaten security closer to home,…
Tanker attacks seen as calibrated but risky Iranian response to US sanctions
If, despite its firm denials, Iran was behind attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf last week and a further four last month, they represent a calibrated yet risky…
Trump and global disorder
There is never a dull moment, say foreign diplomats posted to Pakistan. Indeed, there is always a lot to chatter about or report back to their capitals. Take, for instance,…
Target Iran
The message that came out from the US-Arab-Islamic summit was to isolate, tame and weaken Iran to combat terrorism in the Middle East. If the purpose of the summit was…
Surviving crises
From the free fall of the Iranian rial, to street protests demanding regime change, to the death sentence pronounced by the US towards normalised trade following the abandonment of the…
