Feb 4 2019
Why did Muhammad Bin-Salman wind up his anti-corruption commission? By Abdelbari Atwan The Saudi Royal Court announced last week that the commission formed to investigate corruption cases, headed by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman, had completed its task after recovering 400 million riyals ($100 million) worth of assets, shares, real estate and cash deposits. The royal […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Feb 1 2019
Turkey and the Saudi-led Arab camp are in a race to mend fences with their erstwhile foe By Abdelbari Atwan Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was correct when he pointed out, in the interview he gave to the al-Mayadeen TV channel last week, that the US’ Arab friends view Turkey as a greater threat than Iran. That is why […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, Syria •
Jan 14 2019
The anti-Iran alliance the US plans to launch in Poland next month is doomed to fail By Abdelbari Atwan French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was right to point out at the press conference he held in Amman on Sunday that that the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ is no longer on the table. This is […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United States of America •
Dec 28 2018
Is change coming to the Kingdom, or merely the impression of change? By Abdelbari Atwan The reshuffle of top ministerial and security posts announced on Thursday by the Saudi monarch, King Salman Bin-Abdelaziz, was noteworthy both in its substance and timing. It raises many questions about the true purpose of the move, and about the […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Dec 11 2018
The Gulf regional grouping is being sent the way of the Arab League By Abdelbari Atwan Far more important than the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit — which convened for just a few hours in Riyadh on Sunday — and the ‘poetic’ closing statement it issued, were the remarks made by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Dec 3 2018
The G-20 summit has demonstrated that money outweighs morals in international relations By Abdelbari Atwan The G-20 summit in Buenos Aires was a key test for Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Salman. It was his first appearance at such a high-level international forum, surrounded by world’s top leaders, since the assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Nov 25 2018
The Saudi crown prince is trying to signal it’s business-as-usual. But it may not be. By Abdelbari Atwan We do not know precisely which advisors continue to surround Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad in-Salman, after several of them were sacked or side-lined for being implicated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. What we do know […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Nov 18 2018
The ‘crime of the century’ could scupper the ‘deal of the century’ and the US’ entire Middle East strategy By Abdel Bari Atwan The ‘crime of the century’ – the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country’s consulate in Istanbul — has not only damaged Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman, the main suspect accused […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Nov 2 2018
Top-level changes could be coming in the Saudi ruling family By Abdel Bari Atwan Many questions were raised about the prolonged stay in London of Prince Ahmad Bin-Abdelaziz, youngest of the seven Sudairi sons of Saudi Arabia’s founding monarch – especially after he told a group of protestors outside his residence that they should not blame […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 30 2018
Could a reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar be on the cards? By Abdel Bari Atwan Qatar may yet emerge as the biggest beneficiary of the crime of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The coalition opposed to it, led by Saudi Arabia, has been weakened to an unprecedented degree, and has begun to […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Oct 29 2018
The US, Israel and Arab partners set the stage for the launch of their anti-Iran alliance By Abdel Bari Atwan It was no coincidence that the star of the ‘Manama Dialogue’ conference held in the Bahraini capital over the past few days was US Secretary of Defence James Mattis. He was joined by the foreign […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Oct 28 2018
Why are Gulf governments increasingly flaunting their ties with Israel? By Abdel Bari Atwan Three painful normalisation blows were dealt in as many days to what remains of the Arab states’ self-respect. The first was the participation of an Israeli delegation at a sports tournament in Qatar. The second was the despatch of another sporting […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, The Gulf •
Oct 23 2018
Riyadh hopes the lure of cash and trade deals will offset international revulsion over the Khashoggi murder By Abdel Bari Atwan It is ironic that Saudi Arabia is holding its Future Investment Initiative conference – the so-called ‘Davos in the Desert’ — at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. That is where Crown Prince Muhammad […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 19 2018
Attempts to bury the Khashoggi case by blaming rogue operatives are unlikely to succeed By Abdel Bari Atwan There are three main parties currently standing in the way of US President Donald Trump’s plans to whitewash the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside his country’s consulate in Istanbul, and to absolve Saudi Arabia’s de facto […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 14 2018
We may see a ‘Megrahi Scenario’ being applied to cover up the Khashoggi Affair By Abdel Bari Atwan In his recent comments, US President Donald Trump gave us an indication of how the case of the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who went into his country’s consulate in Istanbul last Tuesday and never reappeared, may be […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 10 2018
If Turkey doesn’t reveal the truth, there should be an international inquiry into the Saudi journalist’s disappearance By Abdel Bari Atwan It is painful to see the case of the disappearance of the well-known Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi becoming more mysterious by the day. With all the conflicting information, and the absence of conclusive evidence, […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 8 2018
The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi is a message to all the Saudi crown prince’s critics, wherever they may be By Abdel Bari Atwan The Turkish security authorities have yet to live up to their promise to reveal full details, with supporting video evidence, of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi since he went into […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Oct 2 2018
Why did the Saudi crown prince’s visit go so badly wrong? By Abdel Bari Atwan The biggest question being asked in most diwaniyas and gatherings in Kuwait and the Gulf region is about Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman’s visit to Kuwait. Why did he postpone it for a day, from Saturday until Sunday? And why did he […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 23 2018
More attacks can be expected as US/Saudi destabilisation plans unfold By Abdel Bari Atwan When US President Donald Trump accuses Iran of being behind most if not all terrorist attacks in the world; Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman openly vows to take his battle with Iran into Iranian territory; and Israel threatens to continue attacking […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Saudi Arabia •
Feb 15 2019
Between Riyadh and Beirut
Why Saudi Arabia lifted its two-year ban on its citizens travelling to Lebanon By Abdelbari Atwan Saudi Arabia’s lifting of the two-year-old prohibition on its citizens travelling to Lebanon was attributed by Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari to the fact that the security concerns that prompted the ban no longer apply. The Lebanese government is committed […]
By mahaburbar1 • Lebanon, Saudi Arabia •