Salman Rafi Sheikh

Ever since the US invasion, Iraq’s political system has been anything but stable. For a country like Iran, which eyes the US-occupied Iraq as a US proxy ground, the imperative of preventing the use of Iraqi territory against itself holds premier significance. Therefore, Iranian imperative and the nature of its interests demand a kind of presence in Iraq...

Whereas the recently announced Sino-Iran deal cuts at the US policies vis-à-vis both China and Iran, China’s multi-billion dollar is quite likely to change the balance of power in the Middle East to Iran’s favour. With China establishing a direct presence in Iran and around the Persian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz, not only will Iran’s military position change and its capacity...

Since particularly the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, a sea change in the US policies vis-à-vis China has taken place. Its latest manifestation came on July 23 when the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, delivered what has been called the American “Iron curtain” speech. Pompeo’s “Communist China and the Free World’s Future” speech does provide a significant...