by Thomas W. Lippman No one should have been surprised by the tepid response from the U.S. government to the latest arrests of prominent activists in Saudi Arabia. It has been U.S. policy since the administration of Harry S. Truman… Continue Reading
by Shahed Ghoreishi At the Munich Security Conference in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif repeated his administration’s proposal to engage Iran’s Persian Gulf neighbors with the goal of creating a Persian Gulf Security Agreement. According to Zarif, the talks for… Continue Reading
by Eldar Mamedov Some claims are repeated unchallenged so often that they end up becoming part of the conventional wisdom. Such is the case with the assertion that the Iranian constitution mandates the export of the country’s Islamic revolution and… Continue Reading
by James M. Dorsey Emboldened by perceived White House support, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to have stepped up his risky, so far faltering effort to counter Iranian influence in the Middle East. The kingdom, despite Prime Minister Saad… Continue Reading
by Maya Yang In late July, the Iraqi Shi’ite cleric and leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 11 years. Sadr’s visit was preceded by the visit of… Continue Reading