Geopolitics is written all over Saudi religious soft power efforts. Nowhere more so than when it comes to Israel and Jews because of the growing importance of security cooperation with the Jewish state and the influence of the Israeli lobby in the United States, the kingdom’s most important yet problematic …

When the Iranian people revolted in 1979, many of them thought they would establish a democratic system of governance. The revolution in Iran was never intended to create a theocratic dictatorship ahead of an inclusive and secular government. The revolution also appeared to be a repudiation of the previous political …

On 29 May 2022, Colombia held the first round of its presidential elections, with a little over 50 percent voter turnout. Since no candidate managed to secure the required 50 percent plus one mandate in the second round, the run-off election was held on 19 June 2022. The two candidates …

Despite the emergence of the November 2020 rumors about Ayman al-Zawahiri’s death, the elderly Egyptian leader of Al Qaeda has recently reappeared in several videos after having tactfully remained out of sight for an extended period of time. Despite the emergence of the November 2020 rumors about Ayman al-Zawahiri’s death, …

Russia’s President Putin, in a speech on February 21, 2022, said: “Modern Ukraine was entirely created by….Communist Russia. The process began immediately after the revolution of 1917.” He then described the state as “Vladimir Ilych Lenin’s Ukraine.” Putin was harking back to the Romanov empire of the past, when Ukraine …

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Sunday evening, in a meeting in Tehran with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, that Iran welcomed the reopening of the Iranian and Saudi Arabian embassies in Riyadh and Tehran. Amir-Abdollahian praised the Iraqi government for its mediating role in normalization talks between Iran …

Qatar will host the resumption of indirect talks between Iran and the United States aimed at reviving a nuclear deal, the official Iranian Students News Agency reported on Monday, citing Mohammad Marandi, the adviser to Iran’s negotiating team for the Vienna nuclear talks. Iran chose Qatar as the host, Marandi …

Senior officials from Israel, the United States, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates met on Monday in Manama, Bahrain, for the first meeting of the Negev Forum’s Steering Committee. The meeting is a follow-up to the historic two-day Negev Summit held in March in Sde Boker in Israel’s …

Iran and Saudi Arabia appear ready to resume diplomatic talks following Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s shuttle diplomacy. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi traveled to Saudi Arabia June 25 for a short visit before heading to Tehran the next day. The trip was reportedly designed to push talks between the …

Iran’s foreign minister is meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara today. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was scheduled to be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara today, part of an effort to manage growing tensions between the prickly regional rivals. Upon his arrival, Amir-Abdollahian said …