The Middle East
Afghanistan
Tribal truths: The wounds of the US’ Afghanistan exit
As a land heavily influenced by tribal practices, an Afghan proverb stating, “The wound of the sword will heal, but not that of the...
Africa
Morocco and EU host launch ceremony ahead of a landmark green energy partnership
With the European Union fully invested in promoting the transition towards clean energy and countering global warming, the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco...
Archive
OPEC+ seeks agreement on oil production policy
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC, an energy alliance often referred to as OPEC+, was expected to reconvene via teleconference on...
Archive
EU stands by COP26 and IRENA in global energy transition dialogue
The European Union stands by COP26 and renewables agency IRENA in their efforts to build a constructive dialogue about the global energy transition, EU...
Archive
China tensions, Iran nuclear talks support oil price hike
Oil prices traded close to a three-year high on June 24, supported by geopolitical tensions, including China and Iran, falling US inventories and prospects...
Iran
Europe should not remain silent as a mass murderer becomes Iran’s next president
Europe faces a new moral challenge of either standing by its human rights principles or forgoing them for economic interests after Ebrahim Raisi, a...
Archive
Open letter to European leaders on Iranian elections
Dear Josep Borrell, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel:On Friday, June 18th, the Islamic Republic of Iran held its thirteenth presidential election since the...
Analysis
Iran’s election is about succession
Change will not come after Iran’s next presidential election on June 18. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will remain the supreme decision-maker both before...
Archive
Israel-UAE oil transport deal sparks environmental, security concerns in Tel Aviv
Israel's Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel has called on National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabbat to cancel an oil deal recently signed with...
Analysis
Europe must double down on fighting antisemitism
Whenever Israel exercises its right to defend itself against terror, count on a wave of violent antisemitism to sweep across the West. Last month,...
Archive
The last party in the oil market
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major crude producers led by Russia, a group so-called OPEC+, agreed on June 1...
Analysis
A fiscal pandemic on the EU’s eastern border may eventually strike at the heart of Europe
The economic crisis in the European Union that was caused by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has slowly started to subside after months...
Archive
No discounts on the EU’s fundamental values
Alexander Schallenberg has been Austria's Federal Minister for European and International Affairs in the second Sebastian Kurz government since January 2020. He previously served...
Israel
Arab-Israeli relations hijacked by radicals
Watching the latest rocket attacks between Hamas and Israel, it is difficult to remember the heady days of the 1993 Oslo Accords when Israelis...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How international partnerships help boost Saudi intellectual property watchdog’s effectiveness
Realizing the importance of intellectual property in achieving the country's ambitions to stimulate business growth and economic competitiveness. the Saudi government has established the...
Archive
Uzbekistan President highlights green recovery agenda
Uzbekistan’s environmental protection and green recovery are high on the Central Asian country’s priorities, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in his speech on May 30...
Analysis
Democracies must hold their companies to higher standards in China
Earlier this month, the New York Times published the findings of its multi-year investigation into how Apple has risked Chinese customers’ data and the...
Afghanistan
Turkey: A state sponsor of terrorism?
Turkey functions like a state-sponsor of terrorism (SST), fueling Islamist extremism domestically and deploying jihadist mercenaries to Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Listing Turkey as...
Archive
Abu Dhabi’s Masdar wins solar power plants tenders in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry announced on May 21 the winning bidder of public-private partnership (PPP) tenders for two photovoltaic solar plants in the Jizzakh and...
Archive
Ode to the Cold War: Geopolitics is more complicated than ever
“Christ, I miss the Cold War,” hisses Judi Dench while playing the role of 'M' in the 2006 James Bond reboot, Casino Royale. Well,...
Archive
Qatar Red Crescent’s Building in Gaza hit in air strike
The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) office in Gaza was hit in an air strike, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director...
Archive
IEA sets roadmap to net-zero emissions by 2050
Ahead of the UN COP26 climate change convention in Glasgow in November, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report released on...
Albania
Mid-East turmoil eclipses Greece’s latest Balkan initiatives
Greek officials found time to engage in several rounds of Balkan diplomacy this week, once again taking advantage of the presence in Greece of...
Analysis
Gaza media rules
No sooner had Palestinian “worshipers” on the Temple Mount chanted “Bomb, bomb Tel Aviv,” than Hamas gladly obliged and fired hundreds of rockets at...
Archive
US wants Iran nuke deal reinstated, but tied to safeguards
US President Joe Biden says that restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as 'the Iran nuclear deal', must be followed...
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan the Allies invested in the US’ security
After nearly twenty years of engagement in Afghanistan, the United States has now set in motion the process of pulling out all its forces...
Archive
Saudi ACWA Power to build largest single-site wind farm in Central Asia
In the presence of Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Investments and Foreign Trade Minister Sardor Umurzakov, ACWA...
Analysis
The significance of U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide
Like every U.S. leader before him, President Joseph Biden issued a commemorative statement on April 24 to mark the annual commemoration of the Armenian...
Analysis
The “Europeanization” of Greek-Turkish relations: Why the Greeks favor Ankara’s EU membership
Harmonious relations with Greece has become an objective of Turkish diplomacy. The European Union’s policy of conditionality linking progress in EU-Turkey relations to Ankara’s...
Analysis
The Eastern Mediterranean sideshow
We have just been through a week in which the world focused its attention completely on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Second place went to Afghanistan...
Archive
EU frets, Iran plans 60% uranium enrichment after nuke site attack
The European Union said Brussels is extremely worried by Iran’s deputy foreign minister announcement that the regime in Tehran will start enriching uranium at...
Archive
Uzbekistan formalizes hydrogen energy strategy
The Uzbek Energy Ministry has announced the signing of a new Presidential Decree on measures for the development of renewable and hydrogen energy in...
Archive
Dubai-based Phanes Group inks agreements to develop solar power plant in Uzbekistan
Dubai-based international solar energy developer Phanes Group have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Investment Agreement (IA) for a 200 MWАС grid-connected solar...
Archive
OPEC+ meets as Saudis keep finger on the pumps, Russia wants gradual output increase
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, convened for talks chaired by Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz...
Archive
Suez Canal Authority says Ever Given has been successfully refloated
Ever Given, the Panamanian giant container ship that has been blocking traffic in the Suez Canal for nearly a week has been successfully refloated,...
Analysis
Blinken reaffirms America’s focus on rebuilding partnerships
During his March 22-25 trip to Brussels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized repeatedly that the Biden administration will work to rebuild America’s...
Analysis
Erdogan starts a political earthquake in Turkey
Significant developments are underway in Turkey. Most ominously, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has moved...
Archive
EU set to extend Operation Irini until 2023
The European Union is set to extend its Libya arms embargo mission for two years, a senior EU official said, according to a report...
Archive
Kosovo opens its Jerusalem embassy, defying Erdogan
Kosovo formally established diplomatic relations with Israel on February 1, a connection that was brokered by American diplomats in the closing months of the...
Analysis
Biden’s narrow timeline to get tough on Putin
On March 2, President Joe Biden’s administration, together with the United Kingdom and the European Union, announced new sanctions against Russia over last summer's...
Africa
EBRD and Green Climate Fund extend green programme that spans 3 continents
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on March 11 the bank approved additional headroom for the next phase of its successful...
Archive
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and wife Asma test positive for COVID-19
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for Coronavirus, the president's office said in a statement on Monday.A post on...
Archive
Saudi Arabia, Russia coordinate policy as OPEC+ leaves oil output unchanged
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, a group so-called OPEC+, met by videoconference on March 4...
Archive
Is Turkey undermining the Washington Agreement?
In a deal brokered during the closing months of the presidency of Donald Trump, Kosovo and Israel agreed to establish diplomatic relations as part...
Archive
Pope Francis condemns Myanmar junta ahead of landmark visit to Iraq
Pope Francis on Wednesday reiterated his call on Myanmar's military junta to release all political prisoners and allow the country to continue its journey...
Archive
UN chief warns of Yemen ‘death sentence’ as donor pledges fall short
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed his disappointment that a virtual pledging event has failed to raise sufficient funds to avert a large-scale...
Archive
Iran, IAEA agree to nuclear inspection deal with less access
The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi said it reached an agreement with Iran to continue the "necessary monitoring" of the...
Analysis
Is Turkey Biden’s “ally from hell”?
Ten years ago, The Atlantic ran as its cover story a piece titled “The Ally From Hell”. The article followed the raid that killed al-Qaeda...
Archive
Iran threatens to block snap nuclear inspections
Iran threatened on Monday to block snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog from next week if other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal...
Iran
Iran’s November atrocity – justice still sought after fifteen months of silence
On November 15, 2019, Iran was on the brink of what felt like a peaceful revolution. In the early hours of the morning, against...
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