Media

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya writes that Lavrov's visit to Tehran in December appears to have strengthened Russia-Iran ties, commenting on their shared interests....

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya observes that Russia is not intending to loosen its grip in the South Caucasus. This decision comes soon after Armenia's joining of Russia's Customs Union....

Russia's $2 billion weapons deal with Egypt is viewed, by EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya, as an attempt to renew Soviet-era ties. This deal also gives Russia the opportunity to fill the void that the U.S. is leaving as an ally for Egypt, thus increasing its influence in the Middle East....

This article is currently only available in French, and can be read here.....

In the run-up to the Geneva peace talks on Syria scheduled for early November, mainstream Russian press typically provided brief dry reports on the Syrian conflict, similar to the accompanying excerpt from Lenta.ru (Ribbon) from 22 October. The article quotes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stating that he doubted the talks will be attended by “forces representing the Syrian people,” and expressed a decision to run for Syria’s presidency i...

Since 2011, large waves of Europeans have been travelling to Syria in the name of Jihad. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo discusses the influence of preachers such as Shaikh R. al-Nabulsi on the growing phenomenon of European fighters in Syria....

  This article is currently only available in Italian, and can be read here.  ....

EFD fellow Anna Borshchevskaya notes in her latest op-ed for Al-Arabiya that "Diplomacy cannot succeed so long as the Iranian regime is driven by an ideology that, at its core, is in an existential conflict with liberal democratic values". Video footage captured by Syrian rebels suggests that Iran’s involvement in the Syrian conflict goes beyond sending advisors to assist Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The BBC reported on 30th October that th...

EFD fellow Anna Borshchevskaya notes in her latest op-ed for Al-Arabiya that "Diplomacy cannot succeed so long as the Iranian regime is driven by an ideology that, at its core, is in an existential conflict with liberal democratic values". Video footage captured by Syrian rebels suggests that Iran’s involvement in the Syrian conflict goes beyond sending advisors to assist Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The BBC reported on 30th October that...

EFD fellow Anna Borshchevskaya notes in her latest op-ed for Al-Arabiya that "Diplomacy cannot succeed so long as the Iranian regime is driven by an ideology that, at its core, is in an existential conflict with liberal democratic values". Video footage captured by Syrian rebels suggests that Iran’s involvement in the Syrian conflict goes beyond sending advisors to assist Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The BBC reported on 30th October th...

Later this month, the European Union’s Council of Ministers will decide whether to sign Ukraine’s European Union Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, ten days later. If the European Union agrees to offer the Ukraine formal association, it will eliminate most barriers to trade between Ukraine and the European Union, and boost Ukraine’s economy.  More importantly, the agreement would allow Ukraine to take a big...

In the event of a western military strike against Syria, Iran has threatened to launch rocket attacks against Israel....

Members of Iran's Baha'i community continue to face systematic persecution at the hands of the Iranian regime. In the Islamist dictatorship, the state clergy is one of the main bodies responsible for incendiary conduct and murder. Once again, a Baha'i has been assassinated in Iran. Before the murder, a cleric had rallied against the Baha'i, and soon afterwards the fanatical mob responded. Seemingly unremarkably, Ataollah Rezwani was killed. The...

Iranian news media has recently turned its attention to the role of Jewish organisations and the issue of US foreign policy....

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino answers questions on the future of the MENA region for the Zurich-based think tank ISN. Vidino notes that the result of the Arab Spring has been to give citizens the idea that they can shape their countries' destinies. However the Arab world still has to contend with serious problems such as economic stagnation and a youth bulge that is causing social instability. You can read the article at ISN her...

Magnus Norell on the international ramifications of the chemical attack launched by the Syrian regime against civilians in the suburbs of Damascus....

Iranian international relations expert Kayhan Barzegar lays the framework for the nature of US-Iranian dialogue....

Iran's newly appointed Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan allegedly played a chief role in the formation of Hezbollah in Lebanon....

Sweden's daily newspaper Göteborgs-Posten features a report written by EFD Senior Policy Advisor Magnus Norell on the activities of the Lebanese-militant group Hezbollah within Europe. In July the EU blacklisted Hezbollah's military wing, yet Norell cites that it is not possible to separate its political activities from its military wing and the EU's decision will not prevent the group from carrying out activities in Europe such as organised c...

President Hassan Rohani has said he wants to end Iran's isolation, yet his actions suggest that he is following the path of his predecessor....

In an interview on Iranian state television before the election, Hassan Rohani admitted that Iran has never attempted to halt its nuclear programme....

Sweden's daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet features an op-ed on the problem of terrorist recruitment in Sweden. It is estimated that at least seven men from the city of Gothenburg have been killed in the Syrian conflict and there are fears that mosques in the city are encouraging young men to travel to the Middle East. The Swedes who head to Syria often join the most radical rebel groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and there are fears that once th...