U.S. Waiver of Sanctions on Iran’s Chabahar Port is Good News for Central Asia
December 7th, 2025
Via the Times of Central Asia, a report on how a recent U.S. waiver of sanctions on Iran’s Chabahar Port is good news for Central Asia: U.S. sanctions on Iran’s Chabahar Port on the Gulf of Oman have been on again/off again since 2013, when the U.S. Congress passed the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act […]
Read more »Sanctions, the Taliban, and an Iranian Port: The Uncertain Future of India’s Kabul Route
November 7th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, commentary on how India’s approach to the Taliban has gradually shifted from purely humanitarian aid to a focus on trade and transit. On October 30, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced that the United States had granted India a six-month extension to the sanctions waiver for operations at Iran’s Chabahar Port. Issued under […]
Read more »India’s Rare Earth Dilemma: Between Chinese Leverage and an Afghan Offer
October 18th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look at India’s behavior in regard to critical minerals can be best understood as strategic hedging: Beijing is signaling geoeconomic control over a chokepoint industry by deciding to resume the supply of rare-earth magnets to India on the condition of a written “no-diversion” pledge. This is more than just a contractual detail. […]
Read more »The Taliban Emirate, China, India and Pakistan
October 17th, 2025
Via Geopolitical Futures, commentary on what attacking Pakistan means for the Taliban to try to break out of international isolation: After the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, it was only a matter of time before conflict erupted between the Afghan Taliban and their former patron, Pakistan. One of the ways this manifested was […]
Read more »What Are China and Central Asia’s Shared Interests in Afghanistan?
September 17th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a report on how – as neighbors to Afghanistan – both China and the Central Asian states have vested interests in the country, desiring a peaceful, prosperous, and stable Afghanistan: Afghanistan is often referred to as the “Heart of Asia” because of its strategic location at the crossroads of Central and South […]
Read more »Looking Back at a Hot Railroad Summer for Central Asia and Afghanistan
September 11th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look back at the summer of Central Asian railroads, when – in July – Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan all signed agreements with Afghanistan related to the development of railways: On July 31, Turkmenistan signed a $5 million agreement with Afghanistan to jointly develop and invest in the expansion of Torghundi, a dry […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.