Iran and the GCC: Prospects for a Grand Reconciliation

To realize shared priorities and fulfill the Persian Gulf’s potential as a global cornerstone for energy and trade, hardline Gulf Continue reading →

Terrorist capabilities laid bare in an Eastern Ghouta chemical lab

  Read this article in Spanish too. Last December, at a US military hangar near Washington DC, UN Ambassador Nikki Continue reading →

After Riyadh summit, Sunni unity crumbles

The glowing orb stunt should have been a sign that all was not what it seems. Theatrics, in the world Continue reading →

Saudi Arabia’s last war

For years the Saudis have waged proxy battles against Iran, with little success. Now, despite this history of losses, Riyadh Continue reading →

WikiLeaks: The two faces of Hillary Clinton on Syria

“People don’t trust Hillary Clinton, and no one can agree on why,” begins a sympathetic piece on the Democratic Party Continue reading →

From religion to politics, a steady isolation of Saudi Arabia

Read this article translated into Indonesian and French. In the waning days of August, 200 or so Sunni clerics and scholars from Egypt, Continue reading →

US presidential elections: A view from the Middle East

Although the era of US global hegemony is coming to a close, the Middle East – more than most regions Continue reading →

Interview: Mideast alliances shift as regional balance alters

In January, I was interviewed by the conservative Iranian publication Javan about the shifting balance of power in the Levant and Persian Gulf. Continue reading →