From Tehran’s perspective, Lebanon is not a secondary negotiating issue but a critical component of its long-term security strategy.

Iran is not holding firm because it rejects diplomacy. It is doing so because, from Tehran’s perspective, retreat would not resolve the crisis –it would simply strip the Islamic Republic of the very instruments it considers essential to endure it.

With the outbreak of the war on February 28, the nuclear issue has been absorbed into a far broader bargaining environment in which longstanding disputes over sanctions, ballistic missiles, regional influence, and entrenched mutual distrust now intersect with a new set of geopolitical frictions generated by the war itself.

The course of the war reveals a fundamental paradox: while none of the principal actors appears capable of achieving a decisive victory, all retain sufficient capacity to obstruct a stable resolution.

Israel's chronic problem is the gap between tactical victory and strategic success.

Iran's most important strategic goal in the Horn of Africa is to penetrate the Red Sea outlet, which is perhaps the most important of the global waterways.

Jask port, with its geopolitical location in the east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Oman Sea, is of strategic importance for Iran in terms of energy security, economy, and military.

The divided Gulf region is witnessing new shifts in its approaches towards Türkiye and Iran with the emergence of post-COVID-19 economic implications and a weaker US military presence.

Iran will continue evading sanctions as long as it does not have other viable options to further its interests.

Iran’s brand of Shiism, size, population, and conduct in the Arab states, has historically influenced UAE’s strategic thinking.