On February 27, speaking at the extraordinary assembly in the Bundestag, Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that Germany is planning to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, in Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven (RIA Novosti, February 27), which would help decrease the country’s reliance on Russian natural... MORE

On February 24, Ukraine asked Turkey to close the Turkish Straits (the Bosporus and Dardanelles) to Russian warships under the 1936 Montreux Convention (Daily Sabah, February 24). The Straits connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, providing the only way in and out between the... MORE

On April 10, 2020, the U.S. treasury announced a $10 million award for information on Muhammad Kawtharani, a Lebanese Hezbollah commander (state.gov, April 10, 2020). Kawtharani is one of the founding members of Hezbollah and has been extensively involved in Iraqi affairs since the U.S.-led... MORE

Husseini’yon: A Profile of the Iranian-backed Militia Threatening Azerbaijan Rami Jameel  The Iranian-backed Shia Islamist militia, Husseini’yon, has emerged in recent years as an insurgency in what has been a low intensity conflict between Iran and Azerbaijan. [1] Although the vast majority of people in... MORE

Iranian Proxies Increase Operational Tempo in Syria and Iraq Andrew Devereux In early January 2022, a series of attacks targeting U.S. assets and allies in Iraq and Syria were conducted by Iranian-backed militias. On January 5, for example, two weaponized drones were fired towards the... MORE

Tajikistan Maintains Cool Ties with the Taliban Jacob Zenn Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, several Central Asian states have accepted the reality on the ground and engaged the Taliban. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, for example, began initiating dialogue with the Taliban in... MORE

Under the auspices of the Caucasian Federation in Turkey (Kaffed), that country’s Circassian Association and its most important branches in Ankara and Istanbul are planning to open an office that will provide support for Circassians who want to return to their ancestral homeland in the... MORE

Islamic State (IS)’s territorial control in Iraq after 2014 was preceded by the organization’s ”Breaking the Walls” campaign of prison breaks in 2012-2013. It is not surprising, therefore, that IS’ January 20 assault on al-Sina'a prison in al-Hasakah, Syria, which aimed at freeing thousands of... MORE

In early May 2020, the Bangladeshi police counter-terrorism unit arrested 17 members of the banned terrorist group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), in Dhaka. At the time of the arrest, the JMB operatives planned to join Imam Mahdi, the spiritual redeemer of Islam, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.... MORE

Relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan underwent acute conflict and tension in September–October 2021. However, since mid-October, the two countries have endeavored to manage the frictions and reduce the disagreements in their relationship. Recently, on January 26, 2022, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov... MORE