Middle East Near You

The decision by the State of Qatar to leave the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by January 2019 has raised eyebrows and set off speculation as to...

As pressure grows for a ceasefire in Yemen it seems likely that there will be some form of de-escalation soon, if not a full-fledged ceasefire. Indeed, a modest de-escalation...

The execution of a man dubbed the “Sultan of Coins” and his accomplice has brought Iran’s fight against economic crimes and corruption into sharp relief. Vahid Mazloumin had been...

The call by the United States late last month for a ceasefire in Yemen initially raised hopes of a possible breakthrough in the nearly four-year old conflict. But even...

The sentencing of Bahraini opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman to life in prison on charges of spying for Qatar is the latest sign of Bahrain’s continuing political crisis. Sheikh...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise visit to Oman last Friday has predictably elicited widespread favourable coverage on the Israeli media. Notwithstanding this fanfare, there is no denying that...

More than three weeks after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the criminal enquiry into his grisly death has been superseded by a complex set of diplomatic manoeuvrings...

The disappearance and probable murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is proving to be the most significant public relations challenge for the House of Saud in living memory. The...

“The enemy has failed to know you! The enemy has failed to know the Iranian nation! He does not know the Revolution or the revolutionary and faith-based spirit!”, proclaimed...

The terror attack in Iran’s south-western city of Ahvaz on 22 September has multiple local, national, regional and international layers in terms of causality and consequences. All point to...

A little over a week ago, Idlib was on the verge of a major assault by Syrian and Russian forces with the UN warning of potentially catastrophic consequences. However,...

Predictably the Iraqi political process has muddled along slowly and chaotically following May’s closely contested parliamentary elections. However, the appointment on Sunday of Muhammad Al-Halbusi as parliamentary speaker is...

The storming of the Iranian Consulate in Basra last Friday has dramatically demonstrated the simmering anti-Iranian feelings amongst some sections of Iraqi society. It has also exposed the extent...

As the Syrian government prepares for a massive offensive to retake Idlib from an assortment of opposition groups, there are signs that the political and diplomatic shifts ensuing from...

As the United States sets about pressuring the international community to comply with the American sanctions against Iran, one country, in particular, is proving hard to convince. As a...

Earlier this month, Iran and four ex-Soviet countries finally reached an agreement on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. By extension, they also agreed to set the foundation...

As Iran sinks deeper into economic crisis, the establishment is scrambling to contain the situation. To illustrate the point, establishment grandees, like Ahmad Jannati, who is chairman of both...

As tensions between Iran and the US continue to mount, American President Donald Trump’s proposal to meet Iranian leaders appeared to be, on the face of it, a de-escalatory...

Earlier this month Iran commemorated the 30th anniversary of the ending of the Iran-Iraq War. The eight-year conflict is a defining period in the country’s modern history and the...

Flush with confidence following the successful staging of the FIFA World Cup, the Russian Federation has a renewed confidence about its role in the world. There are plenty of...

For months there has been speculation that the Iranian-Russian partnership in Syria is under strain and possibly even on the threshold of a serious split. There is even speculation...

As Iran and the United States move toward a confrontation that is looking increasingly inevitable, Iranian political and military leaders have once again raised the prospect of closing the...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest video-taped message to the Iranian people – in which he conflates the relatively good performance of the Iranian football team with unrest on...

As battle rages for the strategic port of Hudaydah, key questions are being raised about the conflict in Yemen, especially in regard to its regional and international components. The...

The Iraqi parliamentary elections in May has predictably been followed by a drawn-out process of complex manoeuvring and negotiations to determine the complexion of the new government. When it...

This year’s Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Iran was staged with greater fanfare than ever, not least because of rising tensions with Israel. Last month Israel claimed to have staged...

Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s meeting last Thursday with a Syrian religious delegation led by Religious Endowments Minister Mohammad Abdul Sattar Al-Sayyed unfolded at a critical juncture in the Syrian...

Last week’s visit to the UK by Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi appears to signal warming relations between Iran and the United Kingdom. Araghchi’s meeting with UK officials,...

The military confrontation between Israeli and Syrian/Iranian forces on 10 February set off widespread analysis and speculation on the probability of a major regional war. The severity of the...

Last week’s incendiary comments on Bahrain by a senior Iranian journalist and advisor to the country’s leader has reignited debate on the Islamic Republic’s approach to the ongoing political...

By most accounts, the Congress of Syrian National Dialogue held in the Russian resort of Sochi was less than a resounding success. Billed as the Russian equivalent to the...

The Turkish offensive to wrest control of the Afrin region from the local branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is set to become a tough and bloody battle....