Saudi Arabia is at its least stable in 50 years

To maintain its stability, Saudi Arabia needs to end the costly war in Yemen, where much of the population is subject to famine and disease.

Legacy: Gulf

Palestinians ponder reasons for punishing US measures

Washington keeps heaping injuries and insults onto Palestinians, who have various theories about the motivation behind the measures.

Palestine

'UNRWA or nothing': Palestinians in Lebanon brace for the worst

Palestinians in Lebanon have already begun to feel the consequences of funding cuts in schools and hospitals as a result of the United States halting contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Lebanon

Fate of jailed Kurdish leader questioned as Turkey shuns peace

As a showdown looms in Idlib between Syrian government forces and Turkish-backed opposition rebels, Ankara faces the prospect of further turmoil, while long-stalled Turkish-Kurdish talks seem unlikely to be revived nearly 20 years after Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan was jailed.

Syria

Trump’s Iran envoy blasts Tehran missile work, downplays prospects for NY meeting

Brian Hook, the US special envoy on Iran, said any new agreement with Iran would have to curb Iran’s transfer of ballistic missile technology.

United States

Iran-India logistical cooperation set to jump amid scaled-back energy ties

India is well-versed in the game of balancing ties with Iran and the United States and is set to use the current situation over sanctions to promote logistical cooperation with Tehran while limiting oil imports from Iran.

United States

PMU steps up role in Iraq's security after Basra rioting

Following violent protests in Basra in which PMU offices were set on fire, the PMU now plans to carry out security tasks in southern Iraq, which will expand its influence there.

Iraq

The Paul Manafort affair: the Israeli connection

Israeli politicians are demanding investigations into which 'senior Israeli official' appears to have close ties to the Kremlin and was apparently involved in an effort by the former American lobbyist Paul Manafort to smear a Ukrainian politician as anti-Semitic.

Israel

Iran 1, US 0: Iraq chooses a parliament speaker

After a long delay, the Iraqi parliament has finally elected its speaker and in doing so confirmed the rising influence of Iran.

Iraq

Iranians respond to MEK troll farm: #YouAreBots

The exiled Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq is allegedly pumping out tweets in support of overthrowing the Islamic Republic and amplifying them with bots, while legitimate Iranian accounts are suspended.

United States

Who will save Gaza?

Despite celebrating the Trump administration cutting off assistance to UNRWA, Israel knows that without US funding the organization will be paralyzed, making a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip a matter of time.

Palestine

Would Netanyahu be better off without Trump?

The overly pro-Israeli policies of President Donald Trump, especially his decision to cut funding for the Palestinians, poses a threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to continue using the Oslo Accords as a permanent status solution and for the international community to pay for Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the building of settlements.

Palestine