Can Iran Take Over Russia’s Position in the South Caucasus and Create New Threats to Israel?

Iran would become Armenia’s new patron and it could eventually join the ranks of pro-Iranian proxies, with dire consequences for the country. In this scenario, Iran would also gain new arguments and resources in its interaction with Russia, Turkey and India, which it could exchange for something else. This could create new threats to Israel.

South Caucasus As a Zone of Conditional Stability

All the countries of the South Caucasus are in anticipation, waiting for Russia’s withdrawal from the war with Ukraine. It is clear that it will emerge from this conflict weakened, but it is not known to what extent

Intensification of French Foreign Policy in the South Caucasus and Central Asia: Israeli Perspective

After the Second Karabakh War (2020) and especially after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine (2022), France saw a number of new diplomatic opportunities opening up for it in the southern post-Soviet space as Russia's traditional influence waned.

The Hamas Attack on Israel and the Wave of Antisemitism in the South Caucasus and Central Asia

The Hamas attack on Israel triggered a wave of antisemitism in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The root causes of this surge are similar: anti-Israeli propaganda in Russia (which is anti-liberal and anti-Western in nature) and in the Islamic world (usually of a specifically religious nature), as well as in the West (typically taking on an extreme leftist nature).

Israel and the South Caucasus: Building a New Approach

One might be excused for believing the South Caucasus to be of little interest to Israel, as it does not border the Jewish state and hosts several intractable conflicts. But Israel has unique interests in each of the three component South Caucasus countries – interests that have only grown as Iran’s influence has expanded following the lifting of sanctions in 2016.

Turkey vs. the Southern Caucasus Republics

On October 13, 1921, the Kars Agreement was signed in the town of Kars in eastern Anatolia (Western Armenia). This agreement redrew, in Turkey’s favor, the Kars-Ardahan-Artvin border between Turkey and the Caucasus republics of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, an area that had been stripped from Turkey by the post-WWI Sèvres peace treaty. While there are irredentist trends in the now independent Caucasian republics that wish to invalidate the Turkish claim, they are being restrained by present day realities.

The Caucasus: Regional Security Crossroads at the Beginning of 2024

The policies of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, as well as their foreign policy orientations, play a key role in shaping regional security and stability in the region. The problem is that the South Caucasus has never been a unified geopolitical space throughout its modern history.

Dagestan and Northern Caucasus – the first Anti-Semitic pogroms in Post-Soviet Russian History

The majority of Russian commentators agree that the events occurred as a result of mounting mass dissatisfaction in the North Caucasus, with the Jews and Israelis as a formal pretext for the events. However, there are also attempts to determine the actions of specific players who may have intentionally organized pogroms in the Northern Caucasus. Some of these hypotheses are of a propagandistic nature, while others require more in-depth analysis if sufficient supporting arguments can be found.

After the Karabakh War, Iran Faces Stiff Competition in the Caucasus

The Second Karabakh War changed the geopolitical landscape in the South Caucasus. Much has been written on Russia’s and Turkey’s gains, but Iran’s diminished position has gotten less attention. Though not involved in the military operations, Iran saw a steep decline in its geopolitical fortunes in the region as a result of the war.

Israel Needs a Caucasus Strategy

Israel must maintain its deep historic relationship with Azerbaijan, but the Jewish people also have common bonds with Armenians. Jerusalem must seek a larger role in the region to broker peace and prevent Iran and Turkey from gaining a foothold in the area.

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