King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud’s decision to remove Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and promote his favorite son, Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, has been long anticipated. It raises profound questions about the future stability of America’s oldest ally in the Middle East. Read Here – Al Monitor
The Qatar crisis proves two things: the continued infantilisation of the Arab states, and the total collapse of the Sunni Muslim unity supposedly created by Donald Trump’s preposterous attendance at the Saudi summit two weeks ago. Read Here – Independent Duration of Diplomatic Dispute is Key to Qatar Impact
Behind the bluster, bombast, tweetstorms, and general atmosphere of comic opera, is the Trump administration reverting to the successful Middle East grand strategy that both Democratic and Republican presidents followed during the Cold War? Read Here – Foreign Policy
The anti-Qatar action is a clumsy demonstration of the kingdom’s desire to challenge Iran for regional hegemony. What makes the Saudi boycott even more puzzling is the fact that, in addition to Qatar, two GCC member states—Kuwait and Oman—maintain working relations with Iran and have not severed relations with Qatar. Read Here – LobeLog
Sarajevo 1914, Doha 2017? We could be at a historic moment akin to the assassination of the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which resulted in what became known as the Great War. This time, though, the possible clash is between a Saudi-United Arab Emirates force and Iran. Washington is going to have to act […]
Saudi Arabia and three of its Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, furious with what they see as the tiny emirate’s tolerant attitude toward Iran and Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Read Here – Bloomberg
The ability to influence events outside its borders through proxy groups is both the central factor of Iran’s alienation and its most vital strategic asset. Solving that paradox would require a shift in the Islamic Republic’s overarching political and ideological agenda. Read Here – Foreign Policy
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain say they are severing diplomatic relations with Qatar. The Saudi kingdom said it was cutting ties to its neighbour and has pulled all Qatari troops from the ongoing war in Yemen. Read Here – Al Jazeera
Trump was seemingly determined during his recently concluded visit to bring new vigour to the dragging war on jihadism and the West’s unsettling relationship with Iran by offering a different tact: Unite with Washington behind a common mission to eradicate a barbaric strand of Islamist extremism and, in return, Uncle Sam will mind his own […]
Chabahar’s principal attraction over Bandar Abbas appears to be its relative proximity to Afghanistan, especially once the Chabahar-Zahedan railroad is complete. Afghanistan is the one country in the region where India beats China in terms of exports, despite the unreliability of passage through Pakistan; the Indian and Afghan governments are anxious to build closer economic […]
