Strategic Council Online – An analyst of Saudi affairs said that Saudi Arabia and the United States are currently evaluating each other, adding: If Bin Salman cooperates with the United States in resolving the Yemen crisis, as such that Biden represents himself as the “savior of several nations,” Biden will also reduce his pressure in the field of Saudi domestic issues.
Strategic Council Online – Positions and remarks of the officials of the new US administration show that the war in Yemen is one of the important topics on the agenda of the White House in the field of foreign policy. As US President Joe Biden described in his first foreign policy speech the Yemen war: “a war which has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. …This war has to end.”
Hamid Khoshayand – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the Middle East affairs predicted that a tense period is awaiting US-Saudi relations.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the Middle East affairs, commenting on the differences between US foreign policy towards Yemen during Donald Trump’s presidency and under Joe Biden, said: Biden’s policy on putting an end to the war in Yemen is not about human rights issues; rather what he follows in ending the war is to help its ally, Saudi Arabia, which is entrapped in that crisis.
Strategic Council Online – According to a decree issued by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian elections are scheduled to be held in three stages in 2021. According to the decree, for the Palestinian Legislative Council (Parliament) the elections will be held on May 22, for the president of the Palestinian Authority on July 31, and for the Palestinian National Council on August 31, 2021. The results of the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Assembly will be the first stage in the formation of the Palestinian National Council, which will be completed after the elections in accordance with the statute of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and national reconciliation. This is an important and effective step towards establishing unification in Palestine. Announcement of the exact date for the election has been accompanied by movements in the diplomatic arena.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – The former Director-General of the Middle East Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that the interests of governments and regional powers in the Middle East are in conflict and trans-regional players too are not interested in its stability and security, said: In case relations with Saudi Arabia are organized through diplomacy and differences are resolved through negotiation it would help improve the two countries’ position in the world.
Strategic Council Online – A researcher at the Center for the Middle East Studies commenting on the challenges ahead for the Saudi government says with Biden coming to power, Saudi Arabia will no longer have the favourable position and special place it had in the Donald Trump administration.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the Middle East Affairs, referring to the recent policies of the French President, Emmanuel Macron to get closer to Saudi Arabia after Joe Biden took office, said France wants to fill the gap caused by the United States to reduce its strong presence in the Middle East.
Strategic Council Online – Since 2018, we have been witnessing numerous, intertwined and continuous developments in the South Asian region with a focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The two vital and challenging issues in the region are the Afghan peace process and the Kashmir issue.
Dr. Maedeh Karimi – Researcher of Pakistan affairs
Strategic Council Online-Interview: An expert of international affairs says Biden is intending, within the framework of his approach to the US foreign policy, to adopt a united policy towards Iran with Washington’s European allies.
Strategic Council Online – Former Iranian ambassador to Romania and Hungary, stating that some want to complicate the process of advancing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and create the conditions for other parties to gain more concessions from Iran, said: Opponents of improvement of Iran’s economic situation are trying to raise issues and create new conditions to make the implementation of JCPOA difficult and even impossible.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the subcontinent affairs said that with Biden coming to power, the strategy that the Americans have devised for Afghanistan will not change, but perhaps the current administration’s tactics towards Taliban and Afghanistan would be different from those of Donald Trump.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the Middle East affairs commenting on Italy’s recent decision to cancel permits for the export of missiles and fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, said: Due to the high level of disasters in Yemen, Western countries are seeking to halt any cooperation in this regard, especially since Joe Biden has pioneered to cut off support for Saudi Arabia against Yemen.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs believes that the position taken by the new US Secretary of State and White House spokesman that Iran should first return to its obligations in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and then wait for the lifting of the US sanctions will not be accepted by Iran. The modality of the US return to the JCPOA is the test the Biden administration is facing.
Strategic Council Online – The warning to suspend Iran’s voting right in the United Nations prepares the ground for denying Iran access to international rights and opportunities.
Reza Majidzadeh – Researcher on Political Economy of Development
Strategic Council Online—Interview: It seems that the Biden’s administration would partly make efforts to compensate the misguided policies and blunders of the Trump’s administration in the Middle East, says the Director of Global Studies Program of the Center for Strategic Studies of presidency, adding that the Biden’s administration should try to choose policies which are acceptable for the majority of the countries of the region while do not aim to interfere in the domestic affairs of the regional countries.
Strategic Council Online – The US methods and incentives to sell arms to West Asia are more in line with building business for defense contractors than building security in West Asia.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Expert on international affairs
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of geopolitical issues says rapprochement between Qatar and other countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and Saudi Arabia’s backtrack in its primary positions and conditions indicated the failure of Riyadh unilateralism.
Strategic Council Online – Former Iranian charge d’affaires to Yemen says US move to blacklist Ansarollah as a terrorist group will make political talks and aid activities more difficult, adding: Trump and his group wanted to take action in the final days of their term to create problems for the next US administration and even regional countries and leave an impact on the course of developments.
Strategic Council Online – Turkey has started its foreign policy in the New Year with fear and hope. Its relations with the United States, the European Union, Greece, Russia, the Zionist regime, Syria and Saudi Arabia are among Turkey’s most important challenges.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
