Middle East & North Africa
Op-Ed: Israel’s Election: Choice and Change
Three years after Oct. 7, Israelis weigh Netanyahu's security-first politics against the call for accountability.
Kuwait Launches New Citizenship Revocation Campaign
Seven months after taking his oath, Kuwait’s Emir initiated a mass denaturalization campaign in which tens of thousands have had their citizenship revoked, underscoring the country’s persisting nationality issues and recent threats to democracy.
Saudi Arabia Returns to the War It Tried to Leave
A Saudi-backed offensive to retake Sanaa has reopened a war Riyadh spent four years trying to leave, as fighting spreads from Yemen's Red Sea coast to Saudi airports and oil facilities.
United States Releases $320 Million in Military Aid to Egypt Despite Human Rights Concerns
Egypt's long-standing diplomatic role in Middle Eastern conflicts is once again shaping how the United States weighs the importance of human rights against national security when it comes to military aid.
Pipeline Security: Evaluating Saudi Arabia’s Infrastructure Bypasses
As drone attacks and Red Sea conflict expose physical risks to the East-West Pipeline, energy analysts question whether multi-billion-dollar overland routes offer genuine market protection or simply create static targets.
A Fuel Hike Exposes Cracks in Syria’s New Government
A 40 percent hike in diesel prices sparked Syria’s broadest economic protests since Ahmed al-Sharaa took power, revealing economic strain across the nation.
Op-Ed: Red Sea Disruption Turns Shipping Route Into Supply Chain Shock
Attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea forced companies to reroute vessels around southern Africa, driving up costs, delaying deliveries and reshaping who gains from one of the world's most important trade corridors. Two years on, traffic is returning, but the vulnerabilities the crisis exposed have not gone away.
Op-Ed: The World Economy Withers as The Strait of Hormuz Standoff Continues
Though a temporary ceasefire was reached between the US and Iran on April 8, 2026, the situation in the Persian Gulf remains tense as both the US and Iran imposed blockades on the strait, prolonging the suffering of the global economy.
Op-Ed: Kurdish Uprising in Iran: A Struggle for Freedom or a Risky Gamble?
The 2026 War in Iran draws attention to the country’s ethnic Kurdish minority and their struggle for self-rule. Yet, is a foreign supported insurgency the final struggle or the beginning of further chaos?
The Fracture of the Saudi-UAE Alliance in Yemen
The dissolution of the Southern Transitional Council marks a historic rupture between the two Gulf States, and leaves the Iran-backed Houthis in their strongest position since 2014.
Op-Ed: When Strategy Trumps Strength: The Effects of Unrestrained Aggression in US Foreign Policy
Iran does not have to win, it merely has to survive. While the U.S. and Israel initiated the war with Iran anticipating a quick victory, Tehran has demonstrated that, despite its weakened odds, its ability to strategize over the long-term is more important than mere strength and capabilities. The U.S. is on a path to setting a dangerous precedent, one where blatantly aggressive foreign policy will result in the abandonment of the U.S. as a reliable global partner.
China Expands Economic and Diplomatic Role in the Middle East
China has increased its presence through investment, energy ties and diplomacy, raising questions about how its role compares to the United States’ longstanding security influence in the region.
Lebanon Confronts Hezbollah as War With Israel Escalates
With the Middle East in crisis, the unstable relationship between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah is exposed, as Hezbollah’s war with Israel raises questions in Beirut.
Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds Buy Into Egypt as Debt Crisis Deepens
Billions in Gulf investment help stabilize Egypt’s economy, but growing ownership of strategic assets raises questions about political leverage in the Middle East.
Op-Ed: The Iran War and Its Implications On the Gulf Countries
The US-Israel-Iran war of 2026 saw Iranian forces repeatedly strike targets in the Gulf countries, even though they did not participate in offensive actions on Iran.
Sudan’s Silent Genocide: El Fasher’s Fall and the World’s Muted Response
On October 26, 2025, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher, the Sudanese Armed Forces' (SAF) final major stronghold in the western Darfur region. The fighting has devastated the country since 2023: displacing more than 14 million people, killing more than 40,000, and pushing more than 24.6 million people to the brink of famine.
Violence in Syria after clashes between Assad loyalist and the Syrian government sparked a weekend of civil instability
After 13 years of civil conflict, the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad gave Syrians a sense of hope for stability. However, recent attacks led by Assad loyalists threaten the potential to eliminate division within the country.
Could the Rise in Iranian State-Sponsored Executions Provide the Dissent Necessary For A Regime Change?
The steady uptick in Iranian human rights violations has caused public scrutiny and dissent, of which has existed in Iran for decades. However, one must ask, how many more executions have to happen before the public dissatisfaction grows large enough to overthrow the Islamic Republic?
US Turning Its Back on Human Rights: How Leaving the Human Rights Council Damages US-EU and UN relations
In 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council. US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Nikki R. Haley, highlighted at the June General Assembly that this decision was due to the growing concern that the Human Rights Council was driven by “political bias” rather than humanitarian rights due to the “disproportionate focus and unending hostility towards Israel.”
Syrian Transitional Government and SDF Announce Merger Amid Sectarian Violence and Constitutional Shift
The Syrian Democratic Forces merged with the transitional government amid sectarian violence, as President al-Sharaa signed a five-year interim constitution.