Strategic Geography
🇮🇷Iran
Transit risk in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's regional projection capabilities directly shape energy transport costs and Gulf states' infrastructure investment decisions. This section follows those developments.
3 analyses
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan Align: The Middle East Builds a Second Security Layer Beyond the United States
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement treats an armed attack on any one of the three as an attack on all — language that drew immediate comparison to NATO's Article 5. But reading it as another NATO misses the larger shift: regional powers are no longer only choosing among architectures designed elsewhere. Seventy years after the Baghdad Pact traced nearly the same geographic axis, the architects have changed.
How the New Pipeline Empire Bypassing the Strait of Hormuz Redraws Oil Power
On maps, the Strait of Hormuz is merely a narrow trace of water; in reality, it is the world's most formidable energy chokepoint. The conflicts of 2026 have redrawn the scale of oil power. This article analyzes how Persian Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE leverage bypass pipelines to forge asymmetrical energy resilience, restructuring geopolitical alliances.
Oil Tankers Bound for India: How the Russia-Ukraine War Turns Energy Sanctions into Great Power Leverage
The Russia-Ukraine war and Western sanctions have redirected global oil flows. By absorbing discounted Russian crude, India transforms an energy crisis into geopolitical leverage. This article analyzes India's energy decisions, refining capabilities, and strategic autonomy.