Todayβs briefing:
β Three more escalations for Iran
β The US and China agreeβ¦ in Ghana
β Happy MarΘiΘor?
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Good morning {{first_name | Intriguer}}. Yes folks, Iran leads Intrigue again today. We always try to cover the whole world, particularly the stories and angles that donβt get the focus they deserve, but whatβs unfolding in Iran right now is far bigger than just bombs and drones whizzing back and forth across the Strait of Hormuz.
For example:
Old foes Turkey and Greece are jawing at each other after Greece deployed military reinforcements to Cyprus and other islands off the coast of Turkey.
Indiaβs former foreign minister noted the Iranian warship sunk off Sri Lanka was only in the area at Indiaβs invitation, potentially giving India a dog in the fight.
And most alarmingly of all, Russian influencers in Dubai are stuck in their hotels, which refuse to comp their rooms. War is hell.
Maybe thatβs a bit mean, but comedy material is a little thin on the ground so the irony of wealthy Russians being inconvenienced by war will have to do for now.
So far the 2020s have been all about gamblers-in-chief in Russia, the US, Gaza and Israel rolling the dice, as other countries rush to take advantage while no-one else is watching. But weβre watching, Intriguer, which means you are too. Onward!
Number of the day
30 days
Thatβs the temporary waiver the US just granted for Indian refineries to buy βstrandedβ Russian crude already at sea. Itβs an attempt to ease prices without ceding long-term sanctions relief to Putin (though he still gets an immediate sugar hit via these sales).
En(gulf)ed
Welcome to day seven of the Third Gulf War which (per a line via Holly Dagres) is now more of a Gulf War than the first two Gulf Wars.
Right now, the three big questions revolve around succession, secession, and suppression (always applaud outstanding alliteration). So letβs start withβ¦
Secession β will the Kurds launch a ground assault?Β
Any list of folks denied their own state must include the ~35 million Kurds across eastern Turkey, western Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. This βgreater Kurdistanβ is the size of France and, while home to many philosophies, most want more self-determination.
Thatβs inevitably put Kurds at odds with their rulers (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran), while also drawing them into proxy wars: the Iranians backed them against Saddam Hussein; the Americans backed them against ISIS; the Israelis back them against ~anyone.
And that brings us to a couple of weeks ago: sensing an opportunity in Tehranβs weakness plus US-Israeli backing, six Kurdish groups united to form The Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan (CPFIK). Their founding charter is pretty blunt, seekingβ¦
βthe overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iranβ, and
βto achieve the Kurdish peopleβs right to self-determinationβ.
It aligns the Kurds with other Iranians seeking the end of a βrepressive regimeβ β the young woman (Jina Amini) whose 2022 death triggered mass protests was herself Kurdish.
But the CPFIKβs parallel emphasis on Kurdish self-determination is the wild-card here:
Some Iranians could fear a broken Iran more than they might want a free Iran
Regime propaganda has long milked this fear and framed Kurds as disloyal, and
Those neighbours (Turkey, Syria, Iraq) will resent the US arming the Kurds again.
Thereβs also the question of why the US is telegraphing this Kurdish strategy so openly β weβve flagged it could be to provoke the regime into attacking the Kurds and forcing their hand. It could also be to foment a sense of expectation among Kurdish communities.
Either way, itβs not just the Iranians the Kurds are worried about: the US has a long history of using then ditching them (like in Syria literally last month). Andβ¦ thatβs before we recall the Kurds are also out-armed, out-trained, and outnumbered.
Succession β Whoβll emerge as supreme leader? Β
Word is the late-ayatollahβs 56-year-old second-born son (Mojtaba) is the favourite, if not in the top job already. Itβs possible the regime is deferring any announcement until afterβ¦
a) his fatherβs funeral (ie religious-cultural reasons) and/or
b) this US-Israeli war (ie security reasons).
The regime would ordinarily want to broadcast his appointment ASAP to signal strength, though any funeral delay now realistically offers a neat cultural figleaf for his assassination fears (openly fanned by Israeli and US rhetoric).
Whatβs wrong with Khamenei Jr? Heβs a mini-me: a hardliner, insider, IRGC-backed, with crackdown experience (2009), plus a massive fortune (who knew clerics got paid so well!).
Plus from a DC perspective, the idea of blowing billions and torching a region only to end up replacing Khamenei with Khamenei Jr just feels too much like Afghanistan 2.0.
Suppression β Will Azerbaijan hit back?
Itβs still unclear why Iran attacked an international airport in neighbouring Azerbaijan: the country doesnβt host US bases, and it enjoys relatively functional ties with Iran β President Aliyev even signed a condolence book for the ayatollah!
Soβ¦ why hit Azerbaijan? The main theories includeβ¦
a) Azerbaijan is close to Israel and (letβs be honest) hosts Mossad sites
b) Iranβs chain of command is broken, and surviving units are trigger-happy
c) Iran wants to further expand the warβs economic costs (one of the few viable Asia-Europe flight corridors now runs through Azeri airspace)
d) Iran wants to thwart the Trump Route for Peace & Prosperity (the new transit corridor defusing Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions but side-lining Iran), and/orβ¦
e) Keep in mind Iran actually denies the attacks altogether, arguing theyβre just Israeli false-flag attacks to draw Azerbaijan into the war.
Anyway, the decision to hit the exclave of Nakhchivan (rather than the capital) does have the hallmarks of Iranian calibration to maximise pain while minimising blowback. And either way, Azerbaijan is blaming Iran, warning the attack wonβt go unanswered.
Intrigueβs Take
Again, letβs take a look at where this is headed, shall we?
First, on Iranβs munitions, the US is now saying Iranβs daily ballistic missile launches are down 90% since day one, while its drone attacks are down 83%. So yes, Iranβs foreign minister is talking tough to US audiences via NBC, and its attrition strategy continues, but it does seem to diminish with each day.
Second, on estimated timeframes, the US goalposts remain unclear β Hegseth insists this wonβt be βendlessβ, though heβs also insisting the US can and will βsustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.β Plus there are leaks suggesting the Pentagon is staffing up for a conflict to run βthrough Septemberβ or more. That might just be conservative resource allocation, but itβs six or seven months away!
And third, if weβre potentially looking at months more of this, the alliance costs really start to mount: with zero heads-up, US partners and allies are now eating Iranian attacks, energy insecurity, shipping and aviation mayhem, stranded nationals, and maybe now an armed ethnic insurgency, for a war that might last through September, or maybe not.
The risk is even if Iranβs regime breaks, a victorious US emerges more isolated than ever.
Sound even smarter:
In case youβre wondering, the late ayatollahβs first-born son is a low-profile cleric with no meaningful public role.
President Trump has encouraged Iranian diplomats around the world to request asylum and help βshape a new and better Iran.β
Ukraineβs Zelensky says the US and its partners have now used more Patriot missiles in three days than Ukraine has used defending against Russia in four years.
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Meanwhile, elsewhereβ¦
ππΊΒ HUNGARY β Yoink.
Hungarian authorities have detained seven employees of a Ukrainian state-owned bank and seized two armoured vehicles carrying $80M in gold, dollars, and euros on a routine transfer from Austria back to Ukraine. In response, Ukraine has now cautioned its citizens against visiting neighbouring Hungary. (RBC)
Comment:Β Budapest hasnβt commented, but the seizure came the same day Hungaryβs beleaguered strongman prime minister (OrbΓ‘n) threatened to use βpolitical and financial toolsβ to force Ukraine to repair a Russian pipeline supplying Hungary. Polls suggest the Putin-friendly OrbΓ‘n could be headed for electoral wipeout next month, and high energy prices arenβt helping.
π¦πΊΒ AUSTRALIA β But they didnβt inhale.
The big story Down Under is the prime ministerβs confirmation that three Australian naval personnel were onboard the US submarine when it sank Iranβs warship off Sri Lanka this week, but they apparently didnβt take part in the operation. (ABC)
Comment:Β That Aussie deployment is part of Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) training ahead of Australia getting nuclear-powered submarines, but it touches on several national debates, like a) whether AUKUS is dragging Australia into US wars, and b) whether Australia is now party to US breaches of international law.
π¨π³ CHINA β Arms up.
Chinaβs annual political-legislative Two Sessions extravaganza has revealed Beijing will increase its defence budget by 7% this year. President Xiβs stated aim is to have a world-class force by 2050, while US intelligence has long claimed his unstated aim is to be ready to take Taiwan by next year. (Straits Times)
Comment:Β You can spin that 7% number however you want: itβs the slowest rise in five years, slower than the double-digit splurges before 2016, and it brings Chinaβs defence spending to ~a third of Americaβs. But lifting Chinaβs defence spending share in the region from 37% to 44% in a decade, itβs rattling the neighbours.
π¨πΎ CYPRUS β Remember that conflict?
As Greece deploys forces to back Cyprus amid Iranian attacks, Turkey is flagging its displeasure, arguing a) some deployments breach the demilitarised status of islands near Turkey, while b) sending Greek frigates and F-16s to Cyprus is provocative given the islandβs Greek-Turkish split. (Euractiv)
Comment: Whether Athens is indeed just exercising its sovereign right to help Cyprus against Iran, or manoeuvring for advantage in its long-running territorial tiff with Turkey, itβs another indicator of our new multipolar world: as each crisis opens up new voids, capitals will use (or be seen to use) the cover of chaos to take a nibble.
π΅π PHILIPPINES β Wrong set of hands.
Authorities have arrested three security officials on espionage charges for allegedly passing sensitive details about Manilaβs South China Sea resupply missions to China. Itβs prompted calls to update Philippine espionage laws. (Reuters)
π§π· BRAZIL β Bouncing checks.
Banks in Brazil will now have to pay $6B into the countryβs deposit insurance fund to help cover losses from Novemberβs collapse of Banco Master. (Bloomberg $)
Comment: As big and promising a market as Brazil may be, itβs a reminder of the risks β Brazilβs foreign banks (like Spainβs Santander, the UKβs HSBC, Americaβs Citi) are left part-holding the bag for one banker whoβs facing a major fraud investigation.
π¬π GHANA β Cut us a deal.
Foreign embassies in Ghana (including the US and China) are trying to persuade Accra to halt a proposed gold royalties hike that could start next week. The new arrangement would replace the current ~5% royalty with a sliding scale as high as 12%, tied to high bullion prices. (Business Insider Africa)Β
Comment: Ghana obviously wants a bigger slice of goldβs recent record prices, whereas the rare US-China alignment is because both powers have big miners in town, including Americaβs Newmont (world #1) and Chinaβs Zijin (#4).
Extra Intrigue
In other worldsβ¦
Trade: The next scheduled joint review of the United StatesβMexicoβCanada Agreement (USMCA) will kick off from March 16.
Toys: There are new Barbie dolls (including a Serena Williams) hitting the market for International Womenβs Day (Sunday).
Nukes: Finlandβs defence ministry is reversing a ban on hosting nuclear weapons, arguing the 1980s-era rule no longer makes sense.
Tradition of the day
Credits: Embassy of Denmark in Romania
Itβs Friday so we thought weβd offer a good olβ twofer deal to usher you into the weekend: this one is an embassy and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage item.
The building above is in fact the Danish mission in Bucharest, with some AI embellishing (from the embassy itself!) to mark this weekβs ancient tradition of MarΘiΘor.
Celebrated across Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Moldova, and Romania, folks wear a brooch with a red and white string to bring good luck as spring dawns.
Friday Quiz
Test your knowledge of this weekβs (other) news!
