In The News

Los Angeles Times: Prime Minister’s Disappearance in Lebanon

Nabih Bulos November 11, 2017
Even the most fragmented, polarized nations tend to unite when external powers interfere in bullying ways. Such is the case of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Lebanon’s population is 6 million, Saudi Arabia’s is 32 million and the crisis for the smaller country is an extension of the war for regional influence between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Lebanon’s citizens worry about Prime Minister Saad Hariri who...

The Economist: The Balfour Declaration

November 10, 2017
While the Balfour Declaration was not as strong as Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann had hoped when ratified in 1917 as it turns out, the public statement of support issued by the British government during World War I for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine did reinforce the settler project and deliver Israeli statehood. According to the Economist, “...

The Wall Street Journal: Strategy for the Post-ISIS Middle East

Suzanne Maloney and Michael O’Hanlon November 8, 2017
As the war against the Islamic State winds down and territory is regained in Syria and Iraq, regional and international leaders ponder the next steps. Many challenges remain: combatting other extremist groups and pinpointing sources of extremism, securing oil shipments through the Persian Gulf waterways, calming conflict among coalition partners like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and ending divisive...

The Washington Post: What the Royal Purge Means for Saudi Arabia and Oil

Steven Mufson November 6, 2017
Global investors study a series of events in Saudi Arabia and how those may disrupt global oil prices. The crown prince announced a modernization drive, Vision 2030, with plans to create a new city. He also launched an anti-corruption drive, quickly followed by arrests of princes and ministers who might be seen as potential rivals. Saudi Arabia is in the process of selling a small portion of...

BBC: The US and Iranian Battle Over Pistachio Trade

Zoe Thomas October 31, 2017
Tensions run high between Iran and the United States. The Trump administration, criticizing the terms, claims that Iran is not in compliance over the nuclear deal and decertified what is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Other signatories – China, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom – do not agree and remain in the agreement with Iran. The tensions affect trade, and Iran...

The Economist: The Boycott of Qatar Is Hurting Its Enforcers

October 27, 2017
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt “closed their borders and cut diplomatic ties with Qatar” in June and in the four months since, the effects of the broad-based boycott have hit both ways, observes the Economist. The quartet continues to push the Qatar to stop supporting political Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and “to shut down Al Jazeera, the Arab world’s most popular...

Economist: Scrapping Iran Deal Could Embolden Hardliners

October 21, 2017
While US military forces have worked alongside Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, to counter the Islamic State in Iraq, political moves out of Washington may unravel any conciliatory efforts between the two countries. As Donald Trump works to undo many of former US President Barack Obama’s foreign and domestic policies, he simultaneously emboldens Iranian hardliners, argues the Economist...