Is the United Arab Emirates Really Our Friend?

by William D. Hartung Unlike Saudi Arabia, which has been strongly rebuked for its murder of Jamal Khashoggi and its strikes against civilians in Yemen, the other major U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has… Continue Reading

Is Riyadh Finally Buying Russian Air Defense Missiles?

by Mark N. Katz Among the many other Saudi-Russian agreements that have been announced during King Salman’s visit to Moscow, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV declared that Riyadh is buying Russian S-400 air defense missiles. This is a highly significant move because, though… Continue Reading

What Will It Take to Push Iran and Saudi Arabia to Talk?

by Jean-François Seznec and Samer Mosis Saudi Arabia and the other OPEC members have made it abundantly clear that their priority is to aggressively defend market share, not stabilize global crude prices. Consequently, prices are low at the pump and… Continue Reading

Putin, Netanyahu, and the S-300 Missile Sales to Iran

by Mark N. Katz There have been numerous reports about how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently called Russian President Vladimir Putin to express Israeli displeasure with Moscow ending its embargo on the sale of Russian S-300 air defense missile… Continue Reading