Advancing Stability and Opportunity in the Middle East and North Africa
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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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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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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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The UAE Walks Out, and Saudi Arabia Has Only Itself to Blame
When Suhail Al Mazrouei confirmed on Tuesday that the United Arab Emirates would withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+ on 1…
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MBS’s Losing Bet
Mohammed bin Salman gambled Saudi Arabia’s security on friendship with Iran and has now gone silent.
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How MBS’s Built a Neo-Colonial Order
For nearly a decade, Mohammed bin Salman has worked on his facade. In public he is the reformer: Vision 2030,…
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Operation Epic Fury and the Unravelling of Middle Eastern Order
Five weeks into the most consequential military confrontation in the Middle East since 2003, the war between the United States,…
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Oman’s Diplomacy Tested: Neutrality in a Region at War
For decades, the Sultanate of Oman cultivated a foreign policy built on sustained neutrality and active mediation. Under Sultan Qaboos…
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Bahrain’s Economy Under Siege: Fiscal Fragility Meets Regional War
Bahrain entered 2026 carrying a debt burden the International Monetary Fund placed at approximately 133 per cent of GDP, with…
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MBS’s Neocolonial Push Amidst the Iran-US Firestorm
The missiles hitting Iranian soil since March 2026 are not Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) weapons. They don’t need to be,…
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North Africa’s Economic Fragility: War in the Gulf Exposes Structural Weaknesses
North Africa entered 2026 with cautious economic momentum. Combined GDP growth across Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania had…
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Iran’s Retaliatory Campaign and the Collapse of Middle Eastern Stability
The US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28, 2026, under the codename Operation Epic Fury, were designed to…