Tag: EnergySecurity
How Sanctions Created a Parallel Maritime System
What began in 2022 as a workaround to Western sanctions has evolved into one of the most important pieces of strategic infrastructure in the modern global economy. Russia depends on it to finance its war in Ukraine. Iran relies on comparable networks, built over decades of sanctions, to keep exporting…
ASEAN Turns to Iran War as Security Risks Grow
Southeast Asia's diplomats opened a week of high-level meetings in Manila on Monday under the Philippines' 2026 ASEAN chairmanship, with the bloc's foreign ministers set to convene among themselves Tuesday to address the war between the United States and Iran alongside two long-running regional priorities: Myanmar's civil war and tensions…
Cheap Drones Are Rewriting Energy Security
For decades, governments measured energy security by asking whether oil and gas could move safely across oceans and pipelines. The principal threats were conventional wars, naval blockades, piracy or attacks on a handful of high-profile facilities. Protect the sea lanes, defend a few critical chokepoints and maintain strategic reserves, the…
Iraq, Syria Sign Deal to Revive Mediterranean Oil Route
Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington on Friday to rehabilitate the long-idled KirkukâBaniyas crude oil pipeline, advancing plans to reopen a Mediterranean export route as the war around the Strait of Hormuz exposes Baghdad's dependence on Gulf shipping lanes.The memorandum was among roughly 50 agreements worth…
Russia Gains From Iran War Without Fighting
Russia's Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, offered perhaps the clearest insight into Moscow's thinking from a podium rather than a battlefield. Briefing reporters on July 15, Peskov said the Kremlin was watching Washington's growing preoccupation with the war against Iran, suggesting the conflict had inevitably shifted American attention away from Ukraine.…
Hormuz Stays Open as Security Risks Disrupt Global Shipping
Iran has not issued a formal decree closing the Strait of Hormuz, but the distinction between "open" and "closed" is becoming increasingly misleading. Tracking data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicate that commercial traffic through the strait has yet to recover to pre-conflict levels, while…
Russia Bans Diesel Exports as Ukrainian Drone Campaign Hits Fuel Supply
Russia has suspended diesel exports until at least the end of July after months of Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted refineries, fuel depots and fuel transport infrastructure, forcing Moscow to prioritize domestic supply over overseas sales. The suspension is not a routine market intervention. Russian refiners have historically produced roughly twice…
