Columns

If the core purpose of Washington’s sanctions on Iran was to force a regime change in Tehran and cripple its ability to affect geopolitics in the Middle East, none of this has happened. In fact, recent events show Iran behaving as a country that sounds neither deterred by Israel nor under immense pressure, both economic and military, from Washington. In response to Israel’s killing of Ismael Haniyeh in Iran, Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said that Iran will “make the aggressor Israeli regime pay the price for its aggression in a legitimate and decisive action”.

In South Korea the summer of 2024 has been marked by a series of spy scandals, which vividly illustrate a number of the country’s domestic and foreign policy problems. In this article we will look at a scandal involving the US and South Korean intelligence agencies. On July 16, 2024, the US federal prosecutor’s office has charged Sue Mi Terry, a prominent US expert on North Korea and a former CIA officer and analyst, with acting on behalf of the South Korea and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). She was arrested but was released on $500,000 bail the same day.

In the contemporary International Relations, the automobile manufacturing is one of the most important yet profit-making business, providing numerous jobs, and a pivotal aspect of enhancing research and development. However, with the growing geopolitical tensions, enhanced protectionism, and the revival of nationalism; the value of automobile manufacturing has become a matter of national pride and national identity. It is understandable that states take great pride in their national and indigenous carmakers, and consider them to be a part of their national identity, power, and prestige.