By all outward appearances, Hatam Khatoun Nema was a small-time money changer working from a nondescript office in Järfälla, a workaday Stockholm suburb. In reality, the Swedish-Iranian businessman ran an obscure Hong Kong company, H M E A CO., LIMITED, that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through a web of shell companies and businesses […]
Israel’s landmark deal with the UAE to normalise ties could see businesses from the Jewish state operating on arch-rival Iran’s doorstep, but are unlikely to disturb Emirati economic ties to Iran. It could also pave the way for direct economic engagement between Israeli and UAE-based Iranian business people that would reap benefits from politics, experts […]
In the long annals of Arab antagonism toward Israel, the Abraham Accord should be celebrated as a historic breakthrough… In the annals of American peacemaking diplomacy in the Middle East, however, the breakthrough looks more like the latest in a long chain of unintended consequences. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
Recent reports of an ambitious 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Iran and China have reverberated across Southwest Asia and beyond… the agreement will likely face several hurdles, and may have unintended consequences by drawing China into the vortex of Middle Eastern politics. Read Here – Foreign Policy
No matter how one reads the diplomatic deal announced Thursday between Israel and the United Arab Emirates—and there will surely be many supporters and detractors given its historic nature—there is one conclusion that seems irrefutable: Israel was the biggest victor. Read Here – Foreign Policy Also Read | Normalization Deal Between Israel And The UAE […]
Modern Arab societies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have long struggled to reconcile the claims of state and religion. For some autocrats in the Middle East, religion offers a source of legitimacy. But religious authority also competes with state authority and can give courage and structure to opposition movements in these states. COVID-19 has […]
For the Middle East’s oil exporters, COVID-19 has been a triple whammy. Fuel prices have cratered, compounding the agonies of a global shutdown and a deadly viral outbreak. According to the International Monetary Fund, the crisis is the worst the Middle East has faced in the modern era. But for Saudi Arabia’s 34-year-old crown prince and de facto […]
A big question is if Iran can indeed play both sides and somehow accommodate the interests of both China and India simultaneously, particularly if India continues to closely align its foreign policy with Iran’s chief rivals, the US and Israel, and is embroiled in an intractable competition with China. Read Here – Asia Times
Five years after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was concluded, it is on life support, following the US’s reinstatement of sanctions and Iran’s return to enrichment activities. Before two decades of diplomacy are squandered, all parties involved must step back from the precipice. Read Here – Project Syndicate
One of the secret elements of the deal signed last year is that China will invest US$280 billion in developing Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemicals sectors. This amount will be front-loaded into the first five-year period of the new 25-year deal, and the understanding is that further amounts will be available in each subsequent five year period, […]
looking beyond borders 