The United States restricted trade with five companies on Wednesday that it said help produce and procure drones for use by Russia in Ukraine and by Iran-backed Houthis in Red Sea shipping attacks. The companies from Russia and China were among 11 additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which means suppliers need licenses before...
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is commissioning the construction of a new elite mercenary force resembling the French Foreign Legion, a leaked job advertisement has revealed. According to the site Intelligence Online, an unnamed former French special forces officer is leading the initiative to construct an elite unit that would operate as part of the UAE’s...
While so much attention is focused on Israel’s war in Gaza and its shockwaves across the Middle East, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government is steadily reintegrating into the Arab world, despite still being shunned by the West as a pariah. Since Syria made its full-fledged return to the Arab League in May 2023, when Assad...
Having repeatedly sided with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over Iran in a long-standing dispute regarding three Gulf islands, Moscow appears to be risking its ties with Tehran. The Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa islands in the Strait of Hormuz were taken over by Iran in 1971 after British forces withdrew from the UAE following the country’s...
The US Treasury and State Departments sanctioned more than 250 companies and individuals in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, alleging that their continuing support for Russia has been crucial to sustaining its invasion of Ukraine. The measures take aim at what the US agencies calls Russia’s procurement network, a loose coalition of companies...
Edelman earned millions polishing the UAE’s green image — which helped propel Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber to the top levels of climate diplomacy. With three months to go until the COP28 United Nations climate talks begin in Dubai, critics have stepped up their condemnation of the decision to put Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the head of...
Russia, Iran, and the Territorial Dispute with the UAE. Under President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran has carved out an overseas agenda that is a patent departure from the country’s 1979 Revolution-era notion of “neither East nor West,” reflected in a seemingly irreversible estrangement from Europe. It had alarmed tensions with the United States, and a disproportionate...
UK sanctions entities in Turkey, the UAE, and Iran for their alleged role in the Ukraine war. Britain sanctioned more than two dozen targets Tuesday. Including firms and individuals in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. London described this as the “largest ever UK action” targeting Russia’s access to foreign military supplies for its...
In the days since the Wagner Group abandoned its march on Moscow on June 24th, speculation has grown about what will become of Russia’s notorious paramilitary company and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Amid reports of President Vladimir Putin poking around Wagner’s assets and troop deployments, and with the status and whereabouts of Mr Prigozhin himself cloaked in mystery, the future...