by Bernd Debusmann Jr | 28 Jan 2021 | Middle East, Politics
Donald Trump knit close ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia. The new U.S. administration under Joe Biden is reassessing relations with the Middle East. Then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sits with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a dinner in...
by Alistair Lyon | 8 Jan 2020 | Middle East, Politics, Religion
Iran has signaled a desire to avoid full-out war with the United States. But the conflict between the two nations remains, and Tehran has other options. Mourners attend the funeral for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, Tehran, Iran, 6 January 2020 (Saeid...
by Jonathan Lyons | 3 Dec 2019 | Media Literacy, Middle East
Iran’s nuclear programme has held much of the world in suspense for years. But what if the real story, largely overlooked by the media, is elsewhere? Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold a poster of a Hezbollah leader during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, 3 March...
by Harvey Morris | 14 Oct 2019 | Decoders, Middle East
The Kurds are the world’s largest nation without a state. Yet, when thrust onto the world agenda, questions over the group’s identity invariably arise. Supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party dance during Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, in Istanbul,...
by Jonathan Lyons | 16 Sep 2019 | Islam, Middle East
Foreign policy hawk John Bolton is no longer in the White House. Can Donald Trump, with one eye on 2020 elections, now cut a deal with Iran? An Iranian speedboat circles a British-flagged oil tanker that was seized by Iranian forces, Bandar Abbas, Iran, 21 July 2019...