Israeli-Gulf relations

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) poses beside Khalid Mashaal (C), the Hamas chief in exile, and Gaza's prime minister Ismail Haniyeh prior to their meeting in Ankara on June 18, 2013. Senior leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas met today in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to discuss Erdogan's planned visit to the Gaza Strip as well as the situation in Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity. AFP PHOTO/ PRIME MINISTER PRESS OFFICE/ YASIN BULBUL == RESTRICTED T

Analysis

Will Turkey host Hamas leaders after consequential Qatar departure?

Pro-Muslim Brotherhood groups and leaders in Turkey enjoyed few restrictions on their activities in the past but are now seeing their activities curtailed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: President Donald Trump (R) holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office at the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi Arabia to pursue two-track approach for Trump presidency

Riyadh is likely to compartmentalize business dealings with incoming President Donald Trump separately from its foreign policy engagements, where there is likely to be disagreement.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

After UAE visit, Qatari PM holds talks in Iran as Hamas officials depart Doha

A Gulf political official told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that the Qatari prime minister's visit to the UAE is designed to communicate Doha's new policy toward Hamas, where it seeks to be more in alignment with them regarding the group.

Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi (C), Director the Security Agency Ronen Bar (C-R) and Israel's Chief of the Mossad David Barnea (R).

Shin Bet chief discusses Gaza truce in Turkey: What we know

The Israeli official's travel to Turkey marks a dramatic development considering that Ankara has not played a part in these negotiations over the past year and Israel-Turkey relations have significantly deteriorated amid the Gaza war.

Latest News

MBS condemns Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza as Saudi frustrations mount

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives to attend a EU - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Brussels on October 16, 2024. Avoiding a "general conflagration" in the Middle East will be top of the agenda when European Union and leaders of countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, meet in Brussels on October 16, 2024. (Photo by JOHANNA GERON / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Get

Analysis

Beyond congratulations, Trump faces changed, eastward-looking Gulf

US President Donald Trump (L) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May smile during a family photo session at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by KIM KYUNG-HOON / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

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Saudi-Israel normalization 'off table' until Palestinian statehood, FM says

Saudi Arabian Minister for Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud arrives at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 24, 2024. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As response looms, US tries to dissuade Israel from catastrophic attack on Iran

Italian F35 fighter jets take part in the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says Israel FM's visit left 'stain' on Bahrain

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the damage could not be undone by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s recent visit to Bahrain.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, second from left, visits the USS Pearl Harbor in Bahrain, Sept. 30, 2021.

Israel's Lapid visits Bahrain-based US warship in warning to Iran

The Iranian threat and the campaign against a new nuke deal came up all along the historic visit of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Bahrain.

Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with Bahraini King Hamid bin Issa al Khalifa

Israel’s Lapid meets with Bahraini king, inaugurates embassy in Manama

On a first historic visit to Manama, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met today with Bahraini King Hamid bin Issa al Khalifa before inaugurating Israel’s embassy to the country.

Iraqis attend the conference of peace and reclamation organised by US think-tank Center for Peace Communications (CPC) in Erbil, the capital of northern Iraq's Kurdistan autonomous region, on Sept. 24, 2021.

Israel hails declaration by Iraqi group in favor of normalization

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid both welcomed calls by some 300 Iraqis in favor of normalizing ties between Jerusalem and Baghdad.

A woman walks past a SoftBank sign, Tokyo, Japan, May 12, 2021.

Saudi-linked SoftBank invests heavily in Israel

The investment of SoftBank in Israel and the appointment of former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen as its representative in the country might signal Saudi interests in Israeli technology.

This picture taken on November 5, 2019, shows a view of Gulf Air Airbus A320 (R) and A321 (C, L) aircraft at Bahrain International Airport.

Bahrain's Gulf Air to start flights to Israel

The airline previously said it would begin flights to Tel Aviv in June. Bahrain's new ambassador to Israel wants Israeli tourists to visit.

Algerian newspapers announces break in Algerian-Moroccan relations

Algeria partly blames Israel in decision to cut ties with Morocco

In explaining his country’s decision to sever diplomatic ties with Morocco, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra also pointed a finger at Israel.

MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL/AFP via Getty Images

Israel presses case against new Iranian government

The government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is busily conducting a public relations campaign against the cabinet of new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Bahrain’s undersecretary for international relations at the Foreign Ministry Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa visiting the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Jaffa, Aug. 10 2021.

Israel rolls out red carpet for senior Bahraini official's third visit

Visiting Israel for the third time, Bahrain’s undersecretary for international relations at the Foreign Ministry, Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, met with President Isaac Herzog, visited the Peres Center for Peace and innovation and even went diving in the Mediterranean.

Mercer Street attack photos

Pentagon reveals evidence of Iran's role in Gulf tanker attack

Last week's drone strike on the Israeli-managed oil products tanker Mercer Street required "calculated and deliberate retargeting," CENTCOM said.

People and children gather at a Red Sea beach near the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company's (EAPC) oil terminal by Israel's southern port city of Eilat on Feb. 10, 2021.

Israel suspends fuel-transport deal with UAE

The environmental decision to halt the fuel-transport deal with the Emirates created the first real diplomatic crisis between the countries since the signing of the Abraham Accords.

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

UAE likely partner in Israel's moon mission

The funding sources for Israel's ambitious Beresheet 2 have not been divulged, but there are hints that the United Arab Emirates may well be teaming up with Israel on a moon landing.