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...
A humanitarian and human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan. With nearly 11 million people already displaced—three million of them children—the country is now home to the most people rendered homeless by conflict worldwide, and its populace sits poised on the brink of a major famine. A collapsing medical system renders the war’s true death...
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...
Iran is one of the Middle East’s most politically important countries and its central government has transformed significantly over the past century. Once a monarchy, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979, but its elected presidents ultimately ceded authority to the Rahbar, a theocratic Supreme Leader. Iran’s authoritarian government and association with terrorist groups have often forced...
The two countries look like allies—but are increasingly regional competitors. The Israel-Hamas war unfolded amid an apparent regional trend of peaceful coexistence. The Middle East’s transformation along these lines has been represented by the seemingly ever-closer alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as symbolized by the apparent friendship between their respective de...
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...
Oil production cuts agreed by the OPEC+ group will take time to kick in, the Kremlin said on Tuesday as it confirmed that President Vladimir Putin would visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Putin will also host Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow the following day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said....
Toxic pollutants released during gas flaring are endangering millions more people than previously feared, a BBC investigation suggests. Flaring – the burning of waste gas during oil drilling – is taking place across the Gulf, including by COP28 hosts the United Arab Emirates. New research suggests pollution is spreading hundreds of miles, worsening air quality...
The climate crisis has become a leading concern in the Middle East and the upcoming COP28 climate conference in the UAE serves as a pivotal platform to address this pressing threat. Southern Iraq, once known as the Garden of Eden, is poised to become a scorching wasteland in the forthcoming decades. A study, led by this...
The United States has imposed sanctions on entities in Iran, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates that the U.S. Treasury Department says comprise a network for the procurement of parts for Iran’s drone program. The network has facilitated shipments and financial transactions in support of a critical component used in Iran’s Shahed drones,...