On Lebanese-Israeli Border, US and Iran Are Negotiating

by Joe Macaron On May 13, while The New York Times reported that the White House was reviewing military plans to attack Iran, a plane carrying the State Department’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield quietly landed… Continue Reading

Multiple Diplomatic Spats with Saudi Arabia

by James M. Dorsey The failure of Western allies to rally around Canada in its dispute with Saudi Arabia risks luring the kingdom into a false belief that economic sanctions will shield it from, if not reverse mounting criticism of its human… Continue Reading

Obsession with Iran Destabilizes the Middle East

by Eldar Mamedov The Trump administration has used rolling back Iran’s “malign” influence in the Middle East as a mantra to justify its aggressive approach to the country. The US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan… Continue Reading

Will EU Blacklist All of Hezbollah?

by Eldar Mamedov When President Donald Trump threatened not to waive sanctions on the nuclear deal with Iran (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA) unless the agreement´s supposed flaws were “fixed,” he also issued a number of demands… Continue Reading

Lebanon: Saad Hariri’s Impossible Choice

by Aurélie Daher One could say: “What a difference!” Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is back in Riyadh this week, for the first time since he announced from the Saudi capital his canceled-two-weeks-later “resignation” last November. So far, things look… Continue Reading