This is a moment in which the Gulf has to balance between an Iran that has been largely passive and reactive since the 7th of October and an Israel that has been erratic, impulsive and hyper activist in pursuit of short to midterm security interests.

Donald Trump has boxed himself in by promising to ‘help’ Iran’s protesters. But he has few good options for military operations that he can control. [published on Al Jazeera originally ] Illiberal systems often look most permanent just before they change. But moments of upheaval can also produce a different illusion: That the system is one dramatic external blow away from collapse. With Iran convulsed by unprecedented protests against the country’s leadership, it is tempting

One useful way to read the recent escalation along Yemen’s southern coastline is not as a local quarrel over ports and militias, but as a signal that Riyadh now believes it has an opening to reconstitute a Saudi-centric regional order. [originally published at Amwaj ] The first phase of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud’s rise to power was defined by impulsive, often erratic moves designed to establish primacy. The second phase featured a more measured, introverted pos

UAE - Saudi competition from Yemen over the Horn of Africa and Sudan to Libya

This article was originally published with The Conversation Fighters aligned with the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist group in southern Yemen, raised their flags in the provinces of Hadramout and Marah in early December. The seizures mean the STC now controls all eight of the provinces that make up the south of the country. The new status quo looks like a fait accompli for the creation of a separate southern state. It has left Yemen’s internationally recog

By doubling down on the RSF, Abu Dhabi expanded the brutal civil war. It should now leverage that entanglement to push for deescalation

The fallout from Israel’s strike on Qatar drags the region back into the dangerous early stages of the Arab–Israeli conflict.

The Iranian and Israeli attacks on Qatar in June and September this year, respectively, signify a profound shift in the Gulf's security...

One of the Gulf’s most active mediators has been violated, its sovereignty trampled, while the US administration struggled to find words...

How Israel mirrors Russia's and China's information warfare playbook

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel has launched a full-spectrum influence campaign across southern Syria,...

Iran as a network-state will survive degradation from Israel

As Trump enters a volatile phase of his second-term foreign policy, his erratic leadership style casts doubt on his ability to manage potential war in the Middle East. What resembles madman theory is, in reality, impulsive chaos lacking discipline or control.

The region is at a pivotal crossroads. If Gulf states do not seize this moment to exert strategic influence, they will be left cleaning...

Israel has achieved stunning tactical successes against the Islamic Republic in the past few days but risks strategic overreach – and...

Israel’s surprise strike on Iran isn’t just military—it’s a political ambush aimed at derailing Trump’s MAGA diplomacy

An intricate arms supply network with the United Arab Emirates as its hub has been balancing the power between state and non-state actors...

Saudi Arabia aims to translate its hydrocarbon wealth into computational power [The article originally appeared on AGBI ] President Trump...

This piece was originally published by the Arab Center Washington, DC The iconic red MAGA hat has arrived in the Gulf. It is quite...

From North Africa to the Gulf, the UAE has aggressively expanded its counter-revolutionary strategy in the wake of the Arab Spring