Summary: with the JCPOA talks going nowhere and the Biden administration seemingly dismissive of the threat Iran poses to Middle East security whilst focussing on China and the war in Ukraine, the West may be sleepwalking towards a potentially disastrous conflagration in the region.
Summary: Saudi Arabia’s response to the market threat posed by US shale was to broker a partnership with Russia in 2016 that six years later is working very well, allowing the Saudis to exert geopolitical influence while shrugging off demands from the Biden White House.
Summary: a disturbing rise throughout the world of far right extremism is being echoed in Israel where former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is plotting his comeback with the help of racist parties.
Summary: a disturbing rise throughout the world of far right extremism is being echoed in Israel where former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is plotting his comeback with the help of racist parties.
Summary: Joe Biden is beginning a three day visit that is likely to deliver little and may well serve only to underline perceptions among both allies and enemies that American power and influence is continuing on a downward trajectory.
Summary: Tahnoon, part consigliere part strategic driver, is seen as a unique player within the UAE and the GCC. Avoiding the limelight, the prince has been able to get on with his job of taking care of family business.
Summary: what seemed a certainty has now bogged down and the Vienna talks are at risk of stalemate with America’s Gulf allies finding themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, on the one hand worried that either the US will do a deal that gives away too much and leaves them in the lurch or on the other that a no deal scenario will further heighten their regional insecurity fears.
Summary: Monday’s attack on the UAE’s national oil company was a brazen statement of intent designed to force the UAE’s hand in Yemen.
Summary: the kingdom has built a ballistic missiles factory and, as anxieties over a new JCPOA deal grows in Riyadh, are ramping up production with assistance from China.
Summary: Mosul native Rasha Al Aqeedi considers the implications and aftershocks of the attempt to kill Iraq’s PM after an election that saw the parliamentary strength of the PMF militias eroded.
