COMMENTARY
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Israel’s ‘Pre-Emptive’ Strike on Iran Raises Fears of Wider Regional War
Israel has launched what it has described as a “pre-emptive attack” against Iran, a dramatic escalation that has heightened fears of a wider conflagration in the already volatile Middle East. Early this morning, explosions were reported in Tehran, and air…
ProtectEU: Inside Brussels’ Strategy to Prevent Terrorism
When the European Commission unveiled its new ProtectEU strategy on 26th February, it marked a notable moment in the bloc’s long and often cautious efforts to confront terrorism and violent extremism. The initiative, presented as a comprehensive agenda to prevent…
Can Europe’s nuclear deterrent remain credible without US certainty?
Europe’s nuclear deterrence debate has sharpened as officials and analysts examine whether Britain and France can continue to provide a credible nuclear backstop in a less certain security environment. The immediate trigger has been a broader reassessment of deterrence in…
Pakistan Escalates Conflict with Strikes on Taliban Strongholds
Pakistan has confirmed that it carried out air strikes on the Afghan cities of Kabul and Kandahar in the early hours of Friday, in what officials described as retaliation for attacks by Taliban forces along the disputed frontier between the…
Secret Tunnels and Hybrid Pressure: How Belarus and Russia Are Testing Europe’s Eastern Border
Belarus’s use of migration pressure against the European Union is no longer confined to flights, forest crossings and organised pushes at the frontier. According to reporting by The Telegraph, citing Polish officials, border guards discovered four underground tunnels under the…
China’s Critical Minerals Behind America’s Missiles
The United States still possesses the world’s most formidable military. It fields the most advanced aircraft, the most sophisticated satellites and a nuclear arsenal of unmatched technological complexity. Yet, according to a warning delivered this week by lawmakers in Washington,…
Four Years Since the Invasion: The War’s Strategic Lessons for Ukraine, Russia and Europe
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the central expectation that shaped much of the early commentary has not materialised: Moscow has not achieved its declared war aims. On the fourth anniversary, the…
Zelenskyy’s warning to Trump: peace without guarantees will fail Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea to Donald Trump — “stay on our side” — should be read as more than an appeal for sympathy. It is a warning about strategy. At the centre of the current diplomacy is a question that sounds…
The F-35 and the Future of European Alignment
This week, the United States ambassador to Portugal, John Arrigo, delivered a suggestion that was less a procurement recommendation than a geopolitical proposition. Lisbon, he said, should replace its aging fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft with the American-made F-35 stealth jet…
Moscow and Tehran: Alleged Verba Missile Agreement Adds New Pressure on Washington
A reported secret Russian-Iranian air defence deal has added a new layer of risk to an already volatile stand-off between Washington and Tehran, while raising wider questions about the strategic alignment linking Russia, Iran and, indirectly, China. According to a…