Advancing Stability and Opportunity in the Middle East and North Africa
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Iran, Mojtaba and the future of the Islamic Republic
Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as Iran’s new Supreme Leader marks the most consequential political transition in the Islamic Republic in more…
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Seasons of light: Ramadan through ancient travellers’ eyes
From Mecca and Damascus to Cairo, travellers across the centuries recorded the rhythms of Ramadan, documenting lantern-lit mosques, night prayers,…
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MBS, Guardian of Holy Places, Master of the Unholy Game
How the House of Saud weaponized Islam, at home and abroad, while its elite played by entirely different rules
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Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Is Another Way for MBS to Consolidate His Power
The autocrat has sole and final control over what many experts consider to be the most important, largest, and dangerous…
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Iran’s Oil State Without Its Architects
The primary threat to Iran’s stability in the medium term may be internal: a slow fragmentation of the elite networks…
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The Double Game of MBS and Saudi’s Secret Alignment with the Axis It Claims to Oppose
How Mohammed bin Salman reconciled with Qatar, accepted Doha’s continued links to Hamas and Iran, deepened Saudi Arabia’s military dependence…
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Iran’s Kurds: teased by opportunity, tethered by memory
The US-Israeli bombing of Iran has led to talk of the country’s Kurds joining the fight against the regime in…
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From Bashar al-Assad to Mojtaba Khamenei
The most important lesson of Syria’s experience is not that hereditary republics necessarily fall quickly; it is that the contradiction…
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Iraq’s oil paralysis: A self-inflicted wound and a gift to Tehran
With the Strait of Hormuz closed and oil production from Iraq’s south in free fall, Baghdad’s failure to maximize the…
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The Regional War Lebanon Hoped to Avoid: Unpacking the Escalation
ow has the escalation evolved and what has been the impact on civilians on the ground? How has the Lebanese…
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The Converging Threats of Climate Change and War in Sudan
Environmental disasters affected hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan in 2025, and will only worsen in the coming years,…
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MBS’s Export of Wahhabism
Colonialism and imperialism have never required an army to be effective. If you take a quick look at history’s most…