Iran began its nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on Tuesday, using the Russian made Sputnik V vaccine. The first shots are being given to frontline health workers. Iran is one of the Middle East's worst-affected countries with 1,481,396 total infections and 58,625 deaths. Its health sector has continuously been under severe pressure and the country faced one of the deadliest outbreak of the illness. 

The European Commission has published its long-awaited strategy for taking forward its relationship with its southern neighbours. It proposes "a new, ambitious and innovative Agenda for the Mediterranean, drawing for the first time on the full EU toolbox and the ground-breaking opportunities of the twin green and digital transitions, in order to relaunch our cooperation and realise the untapped potential of our shared region".

The State’s lack of legitimacy in Yemen over many decades created a vacuum which has been exploited by key socio-political groups that felt marginalised, resulting in the erosion of the country’s sovereignty. In this op-ed Noman Ahmed argues that addressing this issue is key for any future peace process to succeed.

Russian diplomats have been expelled from Berlin, Stockholm and Warsaw in a swift co-ordinated response following Russia's expulsion of diplomats from the the three countries who were accused of monitoring pro-Navalny protests in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Currently Yerevan has almost no leverages to influence future developments around Nagorno Karabakh, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. In 2021, Armenia has no choice but to wait and watch the ups and downs in Russia – Turkey – Azerbaijan relations.

A delegation of European Ambassadors arrived in Aden, Yemen on Saturday (6 February) for meetings with the leadership of Yemen's legitimate government and to support a comprehensive and sustainable peace for the country. The delegation, led by Hans Grundberg, EU Ambassador to Yemen, met Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed and Foreign Minister Ahmed Bin Mubarak.