Middle Orient

For Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, religious reform has long been a question of when rather than if. Mr. Bin Salman’s potential embrace of religious, not just social and economic reform, could have far-reaching consequences for the role of religion in Saudi Arabia and religious soft power rivalry in …

The gas field dispute between Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia showcases a complex interplay of West Asian geopolitics and national pride, but it also offers Persian Gulf states a unique opportunity to resolve an important maritime conflict independent of external interference. The Persian Gulf is home to numerous joint gas …

With Iran’s SCO veto, no other West Asian country can join the eastern security and economic alliance without Tehran’s say-so. This is a remarkable position of leverage for the Iranians, who have overnight gained access to a $6 trillion marketplace and military cooperation with Asia’s biggest powers. After a long-awaited …

Recent revelations have shattered the illusion of strong ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with the latter emerging as a clear rival to Riyadh’s outsized regional and international ambitions. Over the past two years, the once formidable relationship between Saudi Arabia and the UAE has experienced a significant downturn. …

Russia’s exclusion of Iran from critical ‘tables’ in the South Caucasus has been detrimental for both states, allowing the NATO-aligned Israeli-Turkish-Azerbaijani axis to undermine their national security interests and snatch the regional advantage. The shift in the South Caucasus’ balance of power after the 10 November, 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire has …

I recall vividly the latest NATO Summit that took place in Vilnius and was given a lot of coverage on the Russian TV. As a result of digesting daily news I can instantly visualise a huge gathering of Western politicians, military officials and diplomats. Within that sizable assemblage one could …

I visited the capital city of Syria, Damascus, for the fifth time in 1994, alongside Jeff Green, the British General Manager of the American-Turkish joint venture company I was working for. There was a need for a new water-tube steam boiler by the Syrian public oil refineries. The United States …

In the lead-up to his toughest election battle in two decades, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not hesitate to bash Western allies and principles, seeking to bolster support from conservative and nationalist voters and distract them from his dismal economic record in recent years. Erdogan campaigned against rights for …

Thanks to the appeasement policies of the Biden and Obama Administrations, the ruling mullahs of Iran, called by the US State Department the top state sponsor of terrorism, have now also emerged as a major arms exporter. Moreover, coupled with imminent nuclear bombs, they appear determined to ramp up their …

The growing importance of Iran for the Russian Federation and the shift in relative power between the two countries has been highlighted by a remarkable set of exchanges between Tehran and Moscow over the past week. On July 12, Moscow signed on to a declaration by the Arab Gulf states …