Vatanka Reports
News and Analysis on the Greater Middle East 
 

The recent visit to Tehran by Sergei Shoigu was notable in that it was the first time in fifteen years that a Russian defense minister had visited Tehran.

On the last day of 2014, the Pentagon confirmed that five inmates from Guantanamo Bay prison had been transferred to Kazakhstan.

The late January visit to Armenia by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif got little media attention, but it could have significant ramifications for geopolitics in Eurasia.

At a time when the direction of America’s foreign policy is generating abundant global bewilderment, policymakers in Congress and the administration must be mindful not to alienate more allies and increase doubt and distrust of America’s promises.

Last week’s visit by a senior Omani defense delegation to Tehran suggests that Muscat’s policy of friendship toward Tehran is determined.

Thanks to the unending American-Russian standoff over Ukraine, there are voices in Tehran that seem to believe that the road to international rehabilitation goes through Moscow.

Ashton Carter will take over the helm at the Pentagon at a moment of heightened volatility on the global stage. Carter has his work cut out for him.

In Iraq, the Islamic State (ISIS) is no longer on the offensive.

At first glance, Iran appears to be unconvinced about Afghanistan’s new President Ashraf Ghani, and the feeling is probably mutual.

The general consensus among Western observers is that Iran is at best a minor foreign participant in the internal Yemeni struggle for power.

On the back of President Hassan Rouhani's visit to Baku on 12 November, Iran's role in the South Caucasus is once again in the limelight.

As Iran and the United States negotiate with the aim of reaching a diplomatic nuclear settlement by November 24, 2014, no one can doubt the potential implications of the talks.