Middle Orient

The U.S. and Russian presidents staged high visibility visits to the Middle East in the past week and a half. The visits were designed to assert each great power’s influence in the region at a time of escalating great power conflict. But both presidents cut a diminished figure on the …

The decades-long confrontation between Israel and Iran is now arguably becoming more dangerous. Economic, political, and military pressures have failed to stop Iran from becoming an almost nuclear threshold country. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Jewish state and the latter considers the former an existential threat. Now, amid …

As countries around the world cope with supply shortages of staple foods, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, and India are creating an India-Middle East Food Corridor — a new West Asia value chain that harnesses the three states’ commercial and technological synergies to form what promises to be a …

The U.N.-sponsored truce of April 2022 between the government of Yemen, the Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels remains very fragile. Yet it is the longest pause in fighting Yemen has experienced since the Houthi armed rebellion broke out in September 2014 and the Saudi-led coalition forces intervened …

This paper examines the perceptions of Iran and the six GCC states of the interaction between the Iranian nuclear issue and regional security dynamics in the Gulf. This paper endeavours to capture the perspectives of Iran and the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states on the interactions between the …

According to Tehran, five people have been arrested for planning attacks in Iran in cooperation with Israel’s national intelligence service. The Iranian intelligence organization known by its Persian acronym FARAJA has announced the arrest of five people accused of plotting to carry out attacks inside Iran in cooperation with Israel’s …

Russian gas giant Gazprom’s sudden “maintenance” shutdown of a major pipeline carrying gas to Turkey coincided with the talks over Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership bids. With Russian gas giant Gazprom this week again slashing its gas exports to Europe and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accusing Moscow …

The working assumption according to which the Mossad is currently operating is that eventually the world powers will reach an agreement with Iran. “Now is the time to save the Iran nuclear deal” was the headline of a July 26 op-ed by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell in …

Neither Washington nor Tehran are calling it quits, but experts are skeptical an EU proposal to revive the nuclear deal can break the deadlock. A compromise to restore the landmark Iranian nuclear accord that the European Union says is the best possible offer for both parties is being considered by …

The Jordanian King has said that Amman wants good relations with Iran, according to Arab News. King Abdullah II protested on Sunday what he described as regular attacks occurring near Jordan’s borders by “militias linked to Iran” in an interview with the al-Rai newspaper. King Abdullah called for “a change …