![RTX3H0HQ.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/10-1/RTX3H0HQ.jpg/RTX3H0HQ.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=UEGktxGR)
Giorgio Cafiero is the CEO of Gulf State Analytics. On Twitter: @GulfStateAnalyt
![RTX3H0HQ.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/10-1/RTX3H0HQ.jpg/RTX3H0HQ.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=UEGktxGR)
![Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan (2nd L), Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (2nd R), and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir (R) attend the opening ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer - RC1101053F70](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/10-1/RTSZCD3.jpg/RTSZCD3.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=qn0Iz1yX)
Giorgio Cafiero
![RTS19QEB.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/09/RTS19QEB.jpg/RTS19QEB.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=zxyUZk5Y)
Giorgio Cafiero
![Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attend a joint news conference in Doha, Qatar, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon - RTX3B08M](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/08/RTX3B08M.jpg/RTX3B08M.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=ZgA_AcFs)
Giorgio Cafiero
![NAJAF, IRAQ - MAY 2: Shiite cleric Sayed Moqtada al-Sadr sits in his offices beneath a portrait of his late father Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq el-Sadr May 2, 2003 in Najaf, Iraq. A day earlier Iraqi Shiites gathered in the city to mark the anniversary of the death of Mohammed. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/08/GettyImages-2480978.jpg/GettyImages-2480978.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=yNp02AO5)
Giorgio Cafiero
![An official from Kuwait's interior ministry puts up a poster on July 20, 2017 in a Citizen Service Centre in Kuwait City, of fugitives convicted of belonging to a cell that had been formed and trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards who were accused of plotting attacks in the state.
Kuwait expelled Iranian diplomats and closed some embassy missions after the emirate's top court convicted a "terror" cell of links to the Islamic republic, prompting Iran to threaten reciprocal measures. / AFP PHOTO / Yasser Al-](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/GettyImages-819607800.jpg/GettyImages-819607800.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=AdgnKLIz)
Giorgio Cafiero
![Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi waves as he arrives to attend a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX33EVF](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/RTX33EVF.jpg/RTX33EVF.jpg?h=8d24cd13&itok=C6VCsv-v)
Giorgio Cafiero
![People shout slogans as they hold Turkish and Qatari flags during a demonstration in favour of Qatar in central Istanbul, Turkey, late June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX39JA6](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/RTX39JA6.jpg/RTX39JA6.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=_PUtrCar)
Giorgio Cafiero
![Qatar_Saud.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/Qatar_Saud.jpg/Qatar_Saud.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=XGFKVkQ0)
Giorgio Cafiero
![Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir watches the joint Sudan and Saudi Arabia air force drill at the Marwa air base, near Meroe some 350 kilometres north of Khartoum, on April 9, 2017.
The drills were aimed at improving the operational capacities of the two air forces, improving techniques related to air operations and promoting cooperation. / AFP PHOTO / ASHRAF SHAZLY (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/GettyImages-666424864.jpg/GettyImages-666424864.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=g6ENJV0Z)
Giorgio Cafiero
![TOPSHOT - A Bahraini protester holds a placard depicting a portrait of Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the Shiite opposition movement al-Wefaq, during clashes with riot police following a protest against Salman's arrest in the village of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, on January 29, 2016. / AFP / MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/GettyImages-507411132.jpg/GettyImages-507411132.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=XQlgXX-Y)
Giorgio Cafiero
![RTX36SFH.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/09/RTX36SFH.jpg/RTX36SFH.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=GfJMfM-6)
Giorgio Cafiero