Sheikh Hamad bin Khaifa Al Thani made Qatar safe by making it relevant. [originally published with Al Jazeera] For most of its modern history, Qatar was a place that things happened to. It was a quiet peninsula prized for its energy resources and consulted about little, living on the margins of larger ambitions. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who died in Doha on Sunday at the age of 74, refused that inheritance. And despite what many commentaries will reduce his legacy to

This piece was originally published on Iranian attacks on Gulf vessels trying to transit via Omani sovereign waters have once again pulled the region into a tit-for-tat spiral of escalation. The US responded by cancelling the waiver permitting Iranian oil exports. Two nights of punitive airstrikes by the US air force against targets across southern Iran followed. Iran answered with ballistic missile and drone attacks on US installations in Bahrain and Kuwait. The reluctance o

As Trump waged a war he could not end, Gulf states closed ranks, revived diplomacy with Tehran and prevented a wider regional crisis [originally published at MEE] For 30 years, the Gulf monarchies rested their security on a single assumption: that the United States would keep them safe. The war that US President Donald Trump and Israel waged against Iran has buried that assumption. The American bases scattered across the Gulf did not shield states from a conflict they never c

From Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, regional states must take steps to shape their own destinies, rather than being pawns in the Israeli-US agenda On Saturday morning, the departure board at Dubai’s main airport began to stack up with delays. Over the water, pale arcs rose, flared and vanished - interceptors, officials later said - leaving chalk traces in a sky turning white. Similar scenes occurred in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Manama and Kuwait City. Then, in the afternoon, both the Dubai air

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

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...

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

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

Offering a crucial bridge between great powers and non-state actors, Qatar has become an important force multiplier in the age of global...

As an expert negotiator, Doha must now use this momentum to expand the truce deal beyond the short term [originally published at Middle...

The article on how the Gulf states create power was originally published with Amwaj Media Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab...

In a region as volatile as the Gulf, Tamim – an emir formed by crises – will have to continue to find the middle ground to maintain...

Recent meeting could mark a vital first step in aligning external patrons towards a political solution When Egyptian President Abdel...

Abu Dhabi emerged as another broker in Afghanistan to rival Qatar’s influence, as part of a grand strategy to become a key player in...

Despite Qatar trying to maintain its position as a neutral player, its use of military lever for alliance building has been firmly...