Jul 11 2017
Rather than resolving the Gulf crisis, the US may be setting the stage for further escalation By Abdel Bari Atwan US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s belated intervention in the Gulf crisis – preceded by that of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson – implies that all other mediation efforts have reached a dead-end, and that […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Jul 6 2017
military or a security intervention (or both) is the more likely outcome of the Gulf crises. By Abdel Bari Atwan We watched the press conference held by the foreign ministers of Qatar’s four adversaries after a meeting in Cairo that was meant to ‘coordinate’ their next steps, since the 12-day period granted to Qatar to […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Jul 2 2017
Riyadh is in a hurry to ‘legitimize’ its burgeoning relationship with Israel, and silence all critics By Abdel Bari Atwan The evolving relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia is set to become a key feature of regional politics in the forthcoming phase. This goes beyond the creeping normalization of relations between the two […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jun 22 2017
Escalation against Qatar and Iran may follow Muhammad Bin-Salman’s sudden but unsurprising appointment as crown prince By Abdel Bari Atwan Muhammad Bin-Nayef will go down in Saudi history as the second crown prince in two years to have been deposed and stripped of all his powers. His sacking on Wednesday means that his foe and […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jun 18 2017
The latest batch of Saudi royal decrees aims, again, at bolstering the young deputy crown prince’s succession prospects By Abdel Bari Atwan Most of the many Saudi royal decrees that have been issued of late are aimed in a single direction: to rearrange the affairs and institutions of state in accordance with the […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jun 10 2017
Trump talks tough and calls in the generals after Qatari emir, fearing a trap, snubs his mediation offer By Abdel Bari Atwan The strongly-worded warning issued to Qatar on Friday by US President Donald Trump – accusing it of being a “funder of terrorism… at a very high level” and demanding that it […]
By mahaburbar1 • Other, Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Jun 8 2017
Trump seems to be have had second thoughts about supporting the Saudi-led campaign against Qatar, for now By Abdel Bari Atwan Donald Trump has intervened twice in the crisis that erupted between Qatar and Saudi Arabia (along with its allies the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain). On the first occasion, he tweeted his support for […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
May 10 2017
Tehran sees Muhammad bin-Salman’s talk of ‘taking the battle to Iran’ as a serious statement of Saudi intent By Abdel Bari Atwan The unprecedented threat delivered to Saudi Arabia by Iranian Defence Minister Gen. Hossein Dehghan shows that the Iranian leadership is taking seriously the threat made earlier by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
May 5 2017
Muhammad bin-Salman acts as if he’s already on the Saudi throne — and reveals recklessly misguided views on Iran, Yemen and much else By Abdel Bari Atwan The televised interview given by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin-Salman broadcast on Tuesday night was among the most, if not the most, important of its kind […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Mar 15 2017
The US administration’s apparent endorsement of the young Saudi deputy crown prince comes at a price By Abdel Bari Atwan We have not been told why US President Donald Trump decided to bring forward his scheduled meeting with Saudi Deputy Crown and Defence Minister Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman from Thursday to Tuesday and […]
Feb 21 2017
Kuwait and Oman want no part in Saudi Arabia’s wars in Yemen and Syria, nor it’s anti-Iran alliance with Trump and Israel By Abdel Bari Atwan It is not clear whether Monday’s visit to Oman by the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, was aimed at mediating to mend strained relationships […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Jan 27 2017
Saudi Arabia and its partners are finally seeking dialogue with Iran. They should have done so years ago. By Abdel Bari Atwan Three years ago I called in this column for Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to engage in dialogue with Iran to resolve their ongoing conflicts on the basis of mutual […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Saudi Arabia •
Jan 8 2017
2016 was a bad year for Saudi Arabia and its partners, and 2017 will be worse if they do not change political course both at home and in the region By Abdel Bari Atwan 2016 was a bad year in every respect for Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners generally. […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Nov 28 2016
The Egyptian-Saudi quarrel is about regional leadership, self-image and national pride as much as territory, oil and money. This makes it doubly difficult to resolve. By Abdel Bari Atwan The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad, is reported to be planning to launch a mediation effort aimed at mending relations between Saudi […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Nov 16 2016
Even Iran’s worst enemies think the US president-elect’s pledge to cancel the nuclear deal is wrong-headed. By Abdel Bari Atwan It is truly a sign of changing times when former Saudi Intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal advises US president-elect Donald Trump not to make good on his campaign pledge to scrap the nuclear deal […]
Sep 27 2016
It hasn’t taken long for Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s much-hyped ‘strategic partnership’ to unravel, largely because of Syria. By Abdel Bari Atwan The lavish welcome that was laid on for Saudi Arabia’s King Salman during his state visit to Egypt in April was meant to mark the start of a new era in relations. Both […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 16 2016
Riyadh is desperate to block US legislation under which it could be sued for 9/11. The price may include cosying up to Israel. By Abdel Bari Atwan The unanimous passage by both houses of the US Congress of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) has set alarm bells ringing in Riyadh, and probably […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 13 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan It has always been considered inappropriate to ‘politicize’ the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim of whatever persuasion or denomination is meant to perform once in their lifetime if they can afford it. Neither the host-state Saudi Arabia nor the countries that send it their pilgrims — […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jul 5 2016
Abdel Bari Atwan Four suicide bombings rocked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Monday… The accusations are currently directed at the Islamic State and its suicide cells for orchestrating all these bombings through which, the “State” wanted to send a clear bloody message to the international alliance, which is engaged in a […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Jul 14 2017
A Newer Middle East
With the Saudi-led camp faltering, the region’s geopolitics could be on the verge of a transformation By Abdel Bari Atwan It may be pure coincidence that the recapture of Mosul by Iraqi forces was accomplished on the anniversary of the defeat of Israel’s July 2006 assault on Lebanon. But there is a clear link […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •