By bne Tehran bureau Turkey’s recent decision to end a long-standing tax exemption on fuel for Iranian transit trucks has triggered a major backlog at the Bazargan border crossing and left some 300 trucks stranded daily in harsh winter conditions.

Iran is weaker and more vulnerable than it has been in decades, likely since its decadelong war with Iraq or even since the 1979 revolution. This weakness has reopened the debate about how the United States and its partners should approach the challenges posed by Iran.

An Iranian nuclear weapon would be a game-changer in the Middle East. Should the Islamic Republic of Iran acquire nuclear weapons, at a minimum, Iranian leaders would feel so secure behind their own nuclear deterrent that they could export terrorism without fear of retaliation.

Geopolitics abhors a power vacuum. One country’s loss is another’s gain, and the space left by Iran is being occupied, for now, by Turkey. This should come as no surprise: the history of the Middle East between the 16th and 18th centuries was that of struggle between the Ottoman and Persian empires, and it seems to be reviving in the 21st century.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday denied claims by Turkish media that they had received over 1,500 drones from Iran, saying their drones are locally made.

The Middle East is undergoing a profound transformation as new rivalries reshape its geopolitical order. For decades, the defining conflict in the region was a “cold war” between Iran and the Gulf Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia. This struggle, steeped in sectarian and strategic divides, fueled proxy wars and power struggles across the region.

Turkey could pose a greater threat to Israel than Iran in Syria if it supports a hostile “Sunni Islamist” force in Damascus, an Israeli government commission said on Monday.

Iran is at a crossroads — either embrace “realpolitik” through practical, realistic negotiations with the West or “roll the dice” in its quest to become a nuclear power.

Saudi Arabia and others are overlooking the new leadership’s jihadist past, hoping to gain an advantage on rivals in the strategically positioned country.

As Armenia enters 2025, it is clear that the year will present significant geopolitical challenges for the country. Armenia’s security, political stability, and economic development will continue to be shaped

Iran used its Russian-built Bushehr reactor to legitimize orders and imports it could then divert to supply its covert program. Speaking on the centennial of the beginning of Turkey’s ...

At least 57 kolbars were killed by Iranian security forces in the border areas and 282 were injured in 2024, an increase from the previous year’s tally, according to a human rights watchdog’s annual report.