Iran-Saudi Agreement: In Search of Stable Oil Exports and New Relations
Commentary, KSA, Politics & GovernanceIran-Saudi Agreement: In Search of Stable Oil Exports and New Relations
Commentary, KSA, Politics & Governance

Iranian Nuclear Program: Tough Choices for the United States
CommentaryThe future of Iran’s decades-old nuclear program is one of the most difficult foreign policy...

The Iran-Saudi Agreement is Not a Game Changer
CommentaryThe China-brokered agreement restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, announced on March 10, is...

Dictatorship Without a Dictator: Iraq 20 Years After the Invasion
CommentaryTwo decades after the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statues in Baghdad and the dawn of...

Iranian-Saudi Normalization: From Hostility to Cooperative Rivalry
CommentaryTies between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the most complicated...

The Iran-Saudi Agreement is Not a Game Changer
CommentaryThe China-brokered agreement restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, announced on March 10, is...

Traveling Through History on the Forgotten Hejaz Railway
CommentaryImagine boarding a train in Istanbul, and arriving in a city in the Gulf region...

Down, but not Out: Evaluating Russia’s Post-Invasion Record in the Gulf
CommentaryDuring the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Gulf region remained a...

Iran Cannot Solve its Azerbaijan Problem Through Intimidation
CommentaryOn January 27, 2023, an unprecedented terrorist attack was carried out against the embassy of...

Iran in Ukraine: The Costs of Supporting Putin’s War
CommentaryFor all the ways in which Iran has benefitted from its support of Russia’s war...

Iran-Saudi Agreement: In Search of Stable Oil Exports and New Relations
CommentaryThe relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been fraught with tension for decades, with...

Geopolitics Grants Omani LNG a Lifeline
CommentaryThe global energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago has underlined...

Saudi Aramco’s U.S. Investments: A Win-Win Template for Bilateral Energy ...
CommentaryIn recent years, many countries in the Middle East region have concluded that their continued...

Iran-Saudi Agreement: In Search of Stable Oil Exports and New Relations
CommentaryThe relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been fraught with tension for decades, with...

Dictatorship Without a Dictator: Iraq 20 Years After the Invasion
CommentaryTwo decades after the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statues in Baghdad and the dawn of...

Iran’s Aviation Industry Is in Dire Straits
CommentaryThe secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines announced earlier this year that the price...

As the Rial’s Value Drops, Pressure on the Raisi Government Grows
CommentaryThe value of the Iranian rial fell sharply in February 2023, decreasing from 440,000 rials...

Economic Statecraft and its Role in Russia-UAE Relations
Commentary“Economic statecraft” is usually described as a state’s use of economic tools to further its...

Iraq’s Depreciated Currency Holds Consequences at Home and Abroad
CommentaryThe steady devaluation of the Iraqi dinar against the U.S. dollar over the past three...

Unpacking the UAE’s New National Human Rights Institution
CommentaryThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the 19th country in the Middle East to establish...

How the Gulf Fell in Love with Turkish Cinema
CommentaryIn 2022, “Bergen,” a Turkish biopic based on the life story of the namesake singer,...

Iraq’s Perennial Electricity Problem and its Implications for Social Stab...
CommentaryThe growing social unrest we see in Iraq today can be directly linked to the...
Passed Event
March 17 @ 12:00 pm
New @mo_hashemi & @SAliNejat: "The announcement that #Iran and #SaudiArabia will soon reestablish diplomatic ties does not represent a redefinition of international relations in the #MiddleEast. Though the current agreement promises to reduce tensions, the https://gulfif.org/iranian-saudi-normalization-from-hostility-to-cooperative-rivalry/… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1639321122809208832
#ICYMI
Dr. @malaloosy: "The current dreadful conditions in #Iraq beg the question: would developments in Iraq have changed if the #UnitedStates had engineered a different political system in the country?"
https://gulfif.org/dictatorship-without-a-dictator-iraq-20-years-after-the-invasion/
New Dr. @ushukrik: "As a “neutral” power seeking to distance itself from the #MiddleEast’s various geopolitical rivalries, #China has supported reconciliation and peace between #Iran and #SaudiArabia to stabilize its access to the region’s resources."
https://gulfif.org/iran-saudi-agreement-in-search-of-stable-oil-exports-and-new-relations/
New Dr. Kenneth Katzman: "The agreement negotiated between #Iran and #SaudiArabia marks a positive step towards lowering tensions in the #Gulf—but does virtually nothing to change the region’s fundamental power dynamics."
https://gulfif.org/the-iran-saudi-agreement-is-not-a-game-changer/
#RamadanKareem🌙 to everyone celebrating the holy month, wishing you a blessed and peaceful times. https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1638609723577475077
#ICYMI
Dr. @BanafshKeynoush: "In #Iran, building relations with #SaudiArabia is not a factional but an inter-factional issue; and factions don't decide these policies, exigencies and expediency based on structural factors do."
Panel video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47o5G7fdtM
Dr. @AbdulazizOSager: "#SaudiArabia wanted to have the open engagement policy toward the neighboring country; second, they've always realized that having a peaceful good understanding with the neighborhood would reduce escalation."
Watch full panel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47o5G7fdtM
#ICYMI
Prof. Aftandilian: "But even if full diplomatic ties are restored in a couple of months, #Iran and #SaudiArabia still have a long way to go before their relationship becomes truly normal, as ongoing differences and geopolitical hazards may converge https://gulfif.org/iranian-saudi-rapprochement-searching-for-substance-amid-symbolism/… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1638215008747237376
New Dr. @malaloosy: "Far from the beacon of democracy imagined by many at the outset of the U.S.-led invasion twenty years ago, #Iraq’s political elite have borne a state riven by sectarian tensions and corruption."
https://gulfif.org/dictatorship-without-a-dictator-iraq-20-years-after-the-invasion/
To everyone celebrating this holiday, we wish you a joyous and peaceful #Nowruz