
Latest Articles about Middle East

Baku Pushes New Azerbaijan-Iran-Turkey-Georgia Grouping to Enhance Intra-Regional Cooperation
On March 15, Baku hosted the first official ministerial meeting of a new quadrilateral regional format, encompassing Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and Georgia (Trend, March 15). The new grouping was conceived to enhance cooperation among the four neighboring states, particularly in the security sphere. Until now,... MORE

The Belt and Road Initiative: Is China Putting Its Money Where its Mouth Is?
Five years after it entered discussions surrounding China’s foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative remains a subject of political priority and public attention. Beijing has recently made a habit of attempting to persuade visiting heads of state to offer formal endorsement of the initiative,... MORE

Which Way Forward for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula?
Beginning in February, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its proxies launched sequential offensives against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the southern Yemeni governorates of Hadramawt and Shabwah. The latest offensive, Operation Sweeping Torrent, was launched on March 7 with the objective of... MORE

Russia Reemerging as Weapons Supplier to Iraq
One of the most notable political developments of the past several years has been the gradual reemergence of Russia as a rising regional military and diplomatic power in the Middle East, renewing connections that were adversely affected by the 1991 collapse the Soviet Union. Beyond... MORE

Briefs
Nigeria: Dapchi Abductions Put Government Under Pressure The recent abduction in Nigeria of more than 100 schoolgirls by militants likely linked to Islamic State (IS) has undercut the Nigerian government’s claims that Boko Haram has been defeated, and it is already playing into discussions about... MORE

Houthi Missile Attacks and the Many Influences on Yemen’s Conflict
The conflict in Yemen took a dramatic turn in November 2017 when Houthi fighters launched a Burqan 2H long-range missile targeting Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital. The missile was intercepted before it could reach its target, but the Saudis, accusing Iran of supplying missiles to... MORE

Adaptation and Response in the Hamas-Israel Conflict
In the early hours of January 14, the Israeli Air Force bombed a one kilometer (km)-long Hamas tunnel connecting Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip, dug deep below the Kerem Shalom border crossing (Jerusalem Post, January 14). The tunnel stretched from Gaza across 180 meters... MORE

Religious Extremist or Force for Moderation? A Profile of Imprisoned Saudi Shaykh Salman bin Fahd al-Ouda
One of Saudi Arabia’s leading Salafist religious scholars, Shaykh Salman bin Fahd al-Ouda, is currently hospitalized under guard after spending nearly five months in isolation without charges in a Saudi prison. [1] Once a strong opponent of the American military presence in the Arabian Peninsula... MORE

Osama’s Heir: Hamza Bin Laden Begins His Ascent Within al-Qaeda
In mid-August 2015, the voice of Hamza Bin Laden, the so-called crown prince of jihad, reached al-Qaeda’s foot soldiers and sympathizers worldwide for the first time through an audio message. In that message, Hamza, a son of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was introduced and strongly endorsed... MORE

AQAP Update: A New Look at Khalid Saeed Batarfi’s Rise to the Top
On January 23, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) top commander Khalid Saeed Batarfi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. [1] Batarfi is just the latest AQAP figure to be added to the U.S. sanctions list, a mechanism that... MORE