Iran may still call itself an Islamic Republic. In practice, however, it increasingly resembles a state in which the military governs from behind clerical robes.
The early reactions of regional stock markets reflect serious concerns but not full-blown panic despite an unprecedented escalation of the Iran conflict.
Though they were unsuccessful in preventing the current conflict, and, as expected, have been dragged into the U.S.-Israeli confrontation with Iran, Gulf Arab countries remain crucial to hopes for limiting the war and bringing it to a quick resolution.
Iran’s attacks have perhaps irrevocably damaged Qatari-Iranian bilateral relations and erased the last few years of broader rapprochement efforts between Iran and the GCC states.
With the Republican party facing an increasingly likely defeat in the November midterm elections, President Trump has gambled hugely at the great roulette wheel of fate by launching an avoidable war against Iran.
After decades of tolerating Hezbollah’s warmaking independence, the current crisis has compelled Lebanese leaders to ban its military activities; this project will do much to determine the reach Iran can maintain in the Arab world.
The longer the conflict lasts, and the more damage to energy facilities, the greater the risk of oil market tightness, rising prices, and stranded commodities.
The March 6 edition highlights an Iranian military official’s warning to the Kurdistan Regional Government to stay out of the escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
