West Asia - The Geopolitical Desk

Iran's Northern Lifeline: Friends Everywhere, Solutions Nowhere

Iran has never had more Caspian friends, or needed them more. So why are its neighbours lining up pipelines and corridors that could leave Tehran more exposed than ever?

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 9 Oct 2026

Iran's Northern Lifeline: Friends Everywhere, Solutions Nowhere

The Gulf's Washington delusion

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 5 Sep 2026

Disarm or die trying: Iraq's September reckoning

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has bet his young government on a September 30 deadline to strip armed groups of their weapons, a high-stakes echo of the 2021 crisis that nearly got his predecessor killed.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 26 Aug 2026

Disarm or die trying: Iraq's September reckoning

Afghanistan's never ending story

Five years after seizing Kabul, the Taliban have consolidated their rule over Afghanistan, but the same failures that helped them defeat the Republic are now giving rise to a new generation of insurgents.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 17 Aug 2026

Erdoğan's diplomacy outruns Turkey's economy, but not its region

Turkey's struggling economy tells one story, but its growing geopolitical influence tells another.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 4 Aug 2026

Erdoğan's diplomacy outruns Turkey's economy, but not its region

Iraq's anti-corruption drive: reckoning or cosmetic fix?

The high-profile arrests of Iraqi political and energy officials drew international attention and fuelled claims that Baghad was targeting Iranian influence. However, the situation is more nuanced than it appears, and reveals Iraq's continuing political complexity.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 20 Jul 2026

Iraq's anti-corruption drive: reckoning or cosmetic fix?

A new Levant: The rise of Eastern Mediterranean gas

The Eastern Med has been an interest for investment for years, but recent geopolitical tensions in the Persian Gulf are directing more eyes on the region.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 13 May 2026

A new Levant: The rise of Eastern Mediterranean gas

How the Iran war could redefine Iraq's fragile state

Iraq has long found itself in an uncomfortable position between its two main international partners, Iran and the United States. It has managed to maintain a delicate balance, but the current conflict threatens to upend that equilibrium.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 26 Apr 2026

How the Iran war could redefine Iraq's fragile state

The realist who saw the end of the Middle East coming

Mohammed Soliman predicted the Middle East's transformation before the Iran war made it impossible to ignore. In this interview, the engineer-turned-strategist explains why the region is now "West Asia" and why that distinction matters for Europe, India and the future of AI infrastructure.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 1 Apr 2026

The realist who saw the end of the Middle East coming

Regime change and the myth of instant renewal in Iran

As American and Israeli strikes reshape Iran’s military landscape, a parallel campaign is unfolding on screens and in exile capitals: the promise of a picture-perfect tomorrow.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 23 Mar 2026

Regime change and the myth of instant renewal in Iran

Khamenei is dead, long live Khamenei: Iran’s regime after wartime succession

The death of Ali Khamenei was expected to shake the Islamic Republic. Instead, Iran’s wartime succession and the rise of Mojtaba Khamenei reveal a regime that remains cohesive under pressure. National mobilisation, institutional loyalty and war dynamics may reinforce rather than weaken the system.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 9 Mar 2026

Khamenei is dead, long live Khamenei: Iran’s regime after wartime succession

The limits of U.S. energy independence and the upstream risks of escalation in Iran

U.S. military escalation against Iran is reshaping energy geopolitics and exposing new risks for oil and gas investors across the Middle East. From Iraq and Syria to the Eastern Mediterranean, upstream opportunities created by geopolitics may prove far less stable than they appear.

By The Geopolitical Desk

/ 9 Mar 2026

The limits of U.S. energy independence and the upstream risks of escalation in Iran