March 2026

The Iran War's Impact on Food, Fertilizers, and Water

The Iran War's Impact on Food, Fertilizers, and Water

By Arnold Musungu, Leigh Mante, and Reem Sagahyroon

The ensuing crisis in the Middle East is intensifying food and water insecurity, climate systems, and agricultural production. The Climate and Energy program from ORF Middle East provides concise analysis of these impacts and reflections on potential pathways forward. 

AI Deployment By Cities Carries Benefits, But Needs Safeguards

AI Deployment By Cities Carries Benefits, But Needs Safeguards

By Manish Thakre

As local governments increasingly rely on private vendors, building institutional capacity is essential to ensure AI technologies serve the public interest. Decisions about what AI systems to buy, and under what conditions, determine to what extent these systems benefit citizens or produce harmful outcomes.

India’s Navy Is Already Supporting Regional Security Around the Strait of Hormuz

India’s Navy Is Already Supporting Regional Security Around the Strait of Hormuz

By Ammar Nainar

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz resulting from the conflict between the United States and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran on the other, threaten to create another global energy crisis. India has many reasons to proactively take such action: the closure of the Strait of Hormuz risks exacerbating the country’s energy shortages and food insecurity.

What Venezuela Could Learn from Iraq's Oil Export Challenges

What Venezuela Could Learn from Iraq's Oil Export Challenges

By Cauvery Ganapathy

In Venezuela’s case, as was the case with Iraq, it is the systematic domestic mismanagement of its resources coupled with inequities of political agency that diminished the value of its natural wealth. American engagement in Venezuela’s oil sector may soon demonstrate, like it did in the United States’ Iraqi sojourn, how deep-rooted these structural fractures are.

The Iran War's Implications for the Gulf: Three Expert Perspectives

The Iran War's Implications for the Gulf: Three Expert Perspectives

By Samriddhi Vij, Kabir Taneja, and Akram Zaoui

Ten days into the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, the conflict has entered a more entrenched phase. With air and maritime connectivity significantly disrupted and President Trump maintaining uncompromising rhetoric, Gulf leaderships find themselves navigating a precarious balance between containment and active self-defense. ORF Middle East experts offer their concise analysis on the latest developments.

Impact, Development, and Deployment: A Grounded View of India’s AI Impact Summit

Impact, Development, and Deployment: A Grounded View of India’s AI Impact Summit

By Jeffrey D. Bean

The AI Impact Summit underscored India’s commitment to be seen as a leader for technology deployment to the Global South. In this way, India is attempting to serve as a bridge between the leading technology manufacturing countries and the societies where applied technology may have the biggest impact on quality of life, in areas like healthcare, education, and agriculture

Assessing Strategic Intent in a Widening Middle East Conflict

Assessing Strategic Intent in a Widening Middle East Conflict

By Dhruva Jaishankar

With ongoing strikes in the Middle East, the strategic intentions of Israel, the United States, Iran, and the Gulf Arab states are worth examining, for they will shape the intensity and scope of the war — as well as the long-term repercussions regardless of the outcome.