The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers has decided to upgrade the status of India and Pakistan in the bloc from observers to members, which is set to be finalized during the SCO and BRICs summit in July, Russia’s Sputnik news reported on Thursday, citing Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia. The news, although not yet made official, … Continue reading
Iran and Indonesia have agreed to build 48 small-scale hydroelectric power plants as the two nations look to improve ties that have been hindered by sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program. The hydroelectric power plants will be constructed in Indonesia by Iranian companies over the next five years, Iran’s Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said following a conference with Indonesia’s Economy … Continue reading
By Pepe Escobar The twin-pronged attack – oil price war/raid on the ruble – aimed at destroying the Russian economy and place it into a form of Western natural resource vassalage has failed. Natural resources were also essentially the reason for reducing Iran to a Western vassalage. That never had anything to do with Tehran developing … Continue reading
“It is essential to recognize that Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapons program, nor does it possess a nuclear weapon. On February 26, James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Ayatollah Khomenei, the supreme leader of Iran, ended his country’s nuclear weapons program in 2003 and … Continue reading
China will build a natural gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan to help address Pakistan’s severe energy shortage, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday. The natural gas pipeline, dubbed the “Peace Pipeline”, will provide much needed natural gas from Iran, home to the world’s second largest reserves, to energy-deprived Pakistan. “We’re building it. The process has … Continue reading
Iran is set to welcome international investment, particularly from the U.S. and Europe, an Iranian Ministry official said on Sunday. When sanctions are removed, U.S. and European companies will be able to invest in Iran’s various industrial projects, including its oil sector, Mehdi Hosseini, the head of the Oil Contracts Revision Committee of Iran’s Ministry of … Continue reading
By Daniel Djouder The new trend of low oil prices has rapidly escalated, carrying negative effects for producers and positive effects for the economies of importers, though these have been slow to become apparent. In this complex scenario, the oil-dependent country of Nigeria finds itself in a very peculiar position owing to a specific mix of … Continue reading
By Roger McDermott Since Moscow initiated military operations in Ukraine in February 2014, China has seemingly adopted an ambiguous stance as Russia’s annexation of Crimea and destabilization of southeastern Ukraine evoked international condemnation. During the past year, Beijing and Moscow strengthened their strategic partnership by deepening economic ties and enhancing bilateral military cooperation. China’s comparative silence … Continue reading
By Pepe Escobar, Sputnik News The real story is, and will continue to be, how Iran, the key power in Southwest Asia, is about to be positioned in the nonstop complex ballet between the US, Russia and China. That’s one of the key vectors of the New Great Game in Eurasia. The real story was never … Continue reading
The leaders of Saudi Arabia and South Korea have agreed to cooperate to build more than two small and medium-size nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia in a deal worth as much as $2 billion, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday. South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday and met with King Salman … Continue reading