Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

In this Stratfor Talks podcast, Emily Hawthorne and Rodger Baker discuss the intricacies of the escalation between the United States and Iran.

Assembled in this compendium are a number of essential Stratfor analyses that set the scene for the current phase of escalation between the United States and Iran.

A damaging drone strike closely following a weekend tanker incident raises concerns that an Iranian campaign is targeting Gulf oil production -- but other explanations are possible.

Despite the standoff between Iran and its regional adversaries, cooler heads have so far prevailed following a purported attack on oil tankers in the UAE over the weekend. When new information comes to light, however, that could change.

The White House is mulling whether to designate the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, but that could roll back American influence in the Middle East in more ways than one.

Iraq wants to boost its power generation capabilities to reduce its electricity dependence on Iran and temper protests driven by chronic outages.

With Washington taking its toughest line against Tehran since 1979, the Islamic republic is struggling to come up with a suitable response.

Iraq's efforts to address its economic and security woes by cozying up to its neighbor risk drawing increased scrutiny from Tehran's enemies.

Iraq's most important oil-producing province is striving to become a federal region, but that effort will not sit well with Baghdad.

Both the United States and Europe are increasing sanctions pressure against Iran, though the scope and significance of their threats vary.