Perspectives Papers

Perspectives Papers provide analysis from BESA Center research associates and other outside experts on the most important issues pertaining to Israel and the Middle East.

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US-Iran relations reached a nadir following the killing by US drone strike of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. As Iran’s isolation grows, its link to Russia is likely to strengthen. Moscow can use Iran’s geopolitical weakness to its own economic advantage by making large sales of Russian military hardware to the Islamic Republic and encouraging deeper cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and Tehran. At the same time, Russia will use the death of Soleimani to constrain Iranian troop activities on the Syrian battlefield and will generally limit Damascus’s dependence on Iran.
Sitting just 2 km away from the Turkish coast and containing a population of only 500, the island of Kastellorizo, the tiniest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, is the focal point of a multinational maritime dispute. No one seems to have found a way to resolve the quarrel between Turkey and the EU + US + Israel + Egypt over this island.
The acceptance of a non-legal working definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016 was an important step forward in the battle against this widespread hatred. It included 11 examples of antisemitism, several of which concerned anti-Israelism. Yet no definition can fully encapsulate the dark and expanding universe of post-modern antisemitism. It includes hate statements and positions by Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders, former German Socialist leader Sigmar Gabriel, and many others.
The killing by US drone strike of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani on January 3 has the potential to seriously dent Iran’s malign activity in the Middle East and beyond. But how long this effect will last is still very much an open question. The answer depends on how the US responds to future tests.
Former Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoğlu, the personal choice of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the office, and former deputy PM Ali Babacan, the respected economy tzar, are bursting onto the political stage to challenge their former boss and comrade in arms. Their popularity remains unknown, but they could potentially change the political landscape and act as kingmakers.
Ever since the 2006 war, Israel has preferred to contain Hezbollah rather than fight it directly. So determined was Israel to avoid going to war with the terrorist group that it tolerated its significant military buildup. Since 2012, however, the IAF has carried out hundreds of sorties inside Syria aimed at stopping the delivery of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. Israel can continue to delay the arming of Hezbollah, but it has already become quite strong, and a war could occur even if neither side wants it.
In recent years, the People’s Republic of China has significantly increased its economic and diplomatic engagement with the Middle East. Most of Beijing’s investment in the region focuses on energy, infrastructure construction, nuclear power, new energy sources, agriculture, and finance. These investments serve not only China’s interests but also those of Middle Eastern countries hoping to boost their economies as a means of strengthening social stability.

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