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The Middle East

Taking off: Qatar’s strategic rise in global aviation

For Qatar, an important development took place recently as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), approved the final phase of its own airspace, the...

U.S.-China tariff struggle, Iran issue affect energy demand, oil prices

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on April 23 oil prices may decline further this year due to slow demand growth...

Ahead of nuclear talks, Trump administration orders new sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet and Chinese refiners

Washington’s sanctions campaign of “maximum pressure on Iran” is intensifying, despite the start of initial discussions between the U.S. and Iran over nuclear issues...

Ignoring Russia, latest Trump administration Iran sanctions increase pressure on an old enemy

On March 13, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned (“designated” in OFAC language) Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Mohsen...

Swedish Foxtrot criminal network in Washington’s sanctions crosshairs

The U.S. Treasury is targeting the “Foxtrot Network,” which is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden and has conducted shootings,...

The role of Ramadan in combating Islamophobia and promoting unity

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is less about refraining from food or drink and more to do with conducting a deep introspective assessment...

Washington targets Houthi leaders for terrorism, Russia ties and weapons procurement

Under U.S. President Donald Trump, there is no ambivalence in Washington regarding the Houthis. Handling all of the statutory requirements required to press the...

Tashkent’s busy diplomatic agenda

In the coming months, Uzbekistan will host high-profile summits between Central Asia with the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. As global geopolitics...

The dance begins: Rubio and Lavrov engage (alone) on Ukraine

Clearly working overtime to move the U.S.-Russia peace effort for Ukraine forward, both countries’ foreign ministers met on February 18 in Riyadh for the...

Trump administration unleashes first sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet

On February 6, the Department of the Treasury unleashed the first wave of the new Trump administration’s economic sanctions using the tried-and-true U.S. Government/Treasury...

The New Face of an Old Enemy: The renewed dangers of ISIS and al-Qaeda

A dangerous cocktail of indifference and complacency enabled al-Qaeda to evolve from a shadowy fringe network in the early 1990s into one of the...

Is there any hope for a democratic and peaceful Syria?

Most observers will argue that a democratic and peaceful Syria is just a pipedream, but at least in the first weeks since Bashar-al-Assad’s rushed...

OPEC+ postpones plans to increase production over supply unease

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, decided on December 5 to delay its planned...

Biden administration takes final steps to counter global corruption and human rights abuses

Announcing a global grab-bag of new sanctions, possibly some of its last, the Biden administration took major steps on December 9 by authorizing new...

Starvation in Sudan

Aid workers have warned that one of the worst famines in decades could be under way in Sudan, a country in the middle of...

Washington targets Syrian conglomerate funding Iran and Houthis

On November 14 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the...

How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism

France raised one billion euros "for the people of Lebanon," with a declared goal “to provide humanitarian aid." French President Emmanuel Macron even made...

EU-GCC to expand cooperation on green energy, minerals, and bringing peace to Ukraine

The EU heads of state and government and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held their first summit on October 16 in Brussels under the...

The complex politics of Caspian gas

For the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, gas has always been a major economic resource and, in most cases, one of the biggest contributors...

U.S. expands sanctions on Iranian petroleum sector, targeting “ghost fleet”

In the aftermath of Iran’s unprecedented October 1 ballistic missile attack against Israel, Washington made it clear that Iran would face consequences for its...

Washington orders new sanctions against Hamas’ sham fundraising network

Going after key elements of the Hamas European fundraising network on the anniversary of the Gaza war, on October 7 the U.S. Treasury Department’s...

Strategic Partnership or Strategic Risk? France’s Deepening Ties with Qatar

It has recently marked the half-year anniversary since France and Qatar announced a strategic partnership that will see the emirate invest €10 billion into...

Development of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions: an integrative future vision

When the issue at hand is as significant as the integration between world religions in terms of shared values and collective thinking, it is...

Supplying Russia and Iran, Armenia emerges as a new sanctions black hole

For the past two years, Armenia has been attempting to demonstrate its shift towards the West, all the while maintaining its geopolitical role as...

UNGA 2024 overshadowed by Middle East turmoil

At the end of September, as usual, most of the world’s leaders converge on New York for the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session...

G7 Foreign Ministers condemn Tehran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized powers condemned on September 14 "in the strongest terms" Iran's sales and Russia's purchases...

The European Legion’s Activities in Libya

NATO seems to be seeking to intervene in Libya’s internal affairs and impose its control over the Libyan people’s oil and gas capabilities using...

UN forced to admit Hamas operatives infiltrated UNRWA staff

The United Nations acknowledged on August 5 that nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) may...

Time for Mandatory Climate Change Disclosures by GCC States?

From wildfires in New Mexico, to droughts in Vietnam, and extreme temperatures and historic flooding in China, it is clear that urgent action must...

U.S. Targets ISIS Facilitation Network across Africa

On July 23, the U.S. Government announced new sanctions against a network of three individuals associated with the expanded activities of the Islamic State...

Jeffrey Sachs: three times a traitor

An economist with an international reputation, Professor Jeffrey Sachs has increasingly raised his profile in the world media. A U.S. citizen, he accuses his...

Tackling new threats to critical energy infrastructure

The explosions that targeted the Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany in September 2022 and the suspected sabotage of Baltic-connector pipeline, which supplies...

New U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues named

Although currently traveling in China, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a reshuffling of the position of Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian...

New sanctions ordered following Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attacks against Israel

Following Iran’s massive, but ineffective, missile and drone strikes against Israel April 13, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their new sanctions...

Wider Middle East regional conflict must be avoided

In a moment of growing tensions in the Middle East, NE Global sat down for an interview about the Iran-Israel crisis with Giuseppe Manna,...

U.S. zeroes in on Houthi revenue sources

The U.S. Government made several announcements this month regarding new sanctions on Houthi revenue sources, building on steps taken in coordination with the U.K....

Can Innovation Diplomacy End the Climate Gamble?

With today’s global challenges urging equally global responses, an overlooked subset of diplomacy emerges as potentially pivotal: innovation diplomacy, a discipline related to the...

Eyeing competitors, OPEC+ countries will keep cutting oil production

Several OPEC+ countries are extending additional voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day, aimed at supporting what they are labeling "the stability and...

Washington strongly condemns Houthi attacks on shipping

The U.S. State Department issued a strongly worded condemnation of Houthi attacks on international shipping on February 21st, equating many Houthi attacks with piracy.Washington...

Qatar, Kazakhstan to boost economic ties, energy projects

Qatar and Kazakhstan discussed economic cooperation between the two countries, including energy and signed a number of commercial agreements totaling almost USD 18 billion...

UNRWA blasted for allegations that staffers supported Hamas

The United Nations agency that manages support for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on January 26 that it is starting an investigation into several employees...

US designates Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist organization

The Biden administration announced on January 17 that it is re-designating the Houthis, an Iranian-backed, Yemeni Shia Islamist group, as a terrorist organization. The...

The Internet of Everything and smart cities

The 10th International Symposium on Networks, Computers, and Communications was the site of many vibrant debates concerning contemporary Information Systems, Communication Networks, and Computing...

For Turkey, the Kurds are always considered terrorists

“Hamas is a reality for Palestine. It is a political party … it entered the elections as a political party and won,” said Turkey’s...

First Ukraine, now Gaza: the impact of war has set us back on climate change

Discussions of man-made global warming are usually based on a 1-degree Celsius rise since 1880 due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal,...

Stability in the Middle East must involve the whole of the international community

The pacifist Jeannette Rankin once famously claimed that “you can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake”. As the latest...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas - the latter declared this war on Israeli...

Young Iranians fight for a better future

Providing an opportunity for young people around the world to listen to each other and to share their understanding of the fundamental concept of...

Lawmakers, NGO reps, human rights experts, Iranian dissidents condemn appointment of Iran’s envoy to UNHRC’s social forum

During a press conference held in Geneva on November 2, lawmakers, NGOs, and Iranian Dissidents condemned the appointment of Iran’s regime envoy to the...

US slaps new separate sanctions on Iran, Russia and Hamas

On October 18, the US Department of State announced new separate sanctions packages against Iran and Hamas; they are not directly connected. A number...

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