Last Friday, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced that they have reached an agreement to reestablish diplomatic ties and reopen their respective embassies in two months’ time. The agreement, which was mediated by China and announced at a signing ceremony in Beijing, comes after a seven-year diplomatic rift that began in …

Quiet mediation efforts between Egypt and Iran have been going on for months, seeking to end one of the Middle East’s longest-running but often-neglected feuds. In May, credible media reports indicated that Egyptian-Iranian talks had been taking place in Baghdad since March. Later that month, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq …

As risks of further escalation begin to mount, frantic diplomatic efforts are currently underway to prevent the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza from spiraling into a wider regional conflict. But while global leaders and publics remain transfixed by this unfolding tragedy, other trends in the region whose long-term impact could prove …