The kingdom is unlikely to achieve net zero emissions soon, but the ambition to do so, and the plan, is an impactful step in the right direction, write Jim Krane and Karen E. Young in their new piece for Al-Monitor.
Even as the United States continues the strategic pivot to the Pacific inaugurated by the Obama administration, the competition for security and control of maritime space in the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean is intensifying.
Iran is a neighboring country for Saudi Arabia and we from the Gulf states respect its people and culture, sharing many similarities as nations throughout different historical periods. However, there are, unfortunately, profound disagreements that have significantly increased since the 1979 revolution because of Tehran’s foreign policy approach based on ideological promotion and projection.
The government of President Ebrahim Raisi has been in place since early August and yet Tehran is still unsure about when and how it should resume the nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
Women in higher positions within the Iranian state who are loyal to the system of the Islamic Republic and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s leadership are dissatisfied with the new government under President Ebrahim Raisi, and especially with its composition. They had expressed their hopes that with women accounting for half of Iran’s population, they could be responsible for at least one of the ministries in the cabinet. Instead, Raisi’s government, approved by parliament at the end of August, is made up of conservatives and includes not a single woman. What impact is that likely to have on support among women who back the system? Will these women fight for greater political participation within the government or become disillusioned with it? And what consequences might that have for the Iranian state in the longer run?
Grievances have been piling up unaddressed in Tihama, Yemen’s Red Sea coastal plain, for almost a hundred years. Since the revolt of al-Zaraniq against Imam Yahya Hameed al-Din of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom (then North Yemen) in 1925-26, consecutive Imams and the republican elite have pursued policies that have systematically marginalized the Tihamis. They have been deprived of a fair share of their region’s wealth, as well as opportunities for equitable power-sharing and economic empowerment.
Iran’s new conservative government under President Ebrahim Raisi has based its approach to the nuclear talks for the revival of the 2015 JCPOA on three key documents that lay out clear directives.
Iran-Azerbaijan relations have been going through a rough patch recently; both sides have genuine concerns that they want addressed.
Expert regional analysis by MEI scholars and contributors.
On Oct. 3 Cyclone Shaheen made landfall in Oman, near Muscat, after traveling through the Gulf of Oman from the Arabian Sea. According to the India Meteorological Department, which monitors and tracks the formation of cyclones in the North Indian Ocean, Cyclone Shaheen was categorized as a severe cyclonic storm when it made landfall with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. Its arrival brought on heavy rainfall and excessive flooding in the many valleys that are a natural part of Oman’s topography. The high winds of the cyclone generated massive storm surges along the coast and caused serious damage to infrastructure and homes, displacing many.
Inside the Khaleeji Art Museum’s Architecture of Memory, which showcases the work of Dana Al Rashid.
After three years of decline and instability, the Iranian economy has stabilized. Some of the macroeconomic indicators, especially inflation, remain worrying, but the country’s GDP has returned to marginal growth, which is a reminder that the economy has been resilient in the face of massive external and internal pressures. Experts agree that the diversity of economic activity has been the key reason for this resilience. This piece explores three potential medium-term scenarios: 1) A return to the JCPOA; 2) An interim deal that would ease the sanctions pressure; and 3) A continuation of the current sanctions regime.
Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan are high right now but both sides will very likely soon step down. Neither Tehran nor Baku can afford to let recent events lead to a full-fledged crisis or a military showdown between the two Shi’a Muslim-majority countries. On the surface, this latest spat is about Azerbaijan’s resentment toward Iran for providing an economic lifeline through trade and transit options to its landlocked arch nemesis, Armenia. In reality, the split that underpins the ongoing Iranian-Azerbaijani tensions is more about fundamental foreign policy choices that Tehran and Baku have each made and are unlikely to reverse.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.