A thaw in Turkey’s relations with Egypt? Gulf Cooperation Council reconciliation may have set in motion Ankara’s desire for a reset with Cairo. Egypt
Biden's deputy secretary of state nominee OK'd by Senate committee The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved moving Wendy Sherman's nomination to the full Senate, with some Democrats and Republicans who had disagreed with her on the Iran deal voting to confirm her anyway. United States
Biden's CIA nominee stresses China over Iran during Senate hearing Ambassador William Burns said that China is the biggest challenge for the United States, but that Iran and Russia cannot be overlooked. Regional
Post-COVID Mideast economies look to the Gulf and Egypt The region took a hard hit from the pandemic, and it’s far from over, but Egypt and Saudi Arabia are managing better than expected. Regional
Political, economic alarm bells ringing in Jordan Former senior government officials in Jordan are concerned about the inability to introduce economic and political reforms and about overreaching by the national intelligence agency. Jordan
How far will the Saudis go against Hezbollah? With Saudi Arabia labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization, a decision that was endorsed by the GCC, the kingdom hopes to legally pursue the Lebanese movement in international forums. Gulf
IRGC commander: We are not pulling troops from Syria Following the firing of two ballistic missiles, an Iranian commander said that US pressure would only bring about more tests and said Iran would continue sending troops to Syria. Israel
Why is Middle Eastern culture missing from Israeli schoolbooks? Many doubt that a renewed effort to include more about Middle Eastern culture in the Israeli educational curriculum will meet with success given the poor results of earlier efforts. Israel
Erdogan's conquest of Africa Turkey hopes that more muscular foreign policy moves in the Gulf and Africa will help neutralize increasing pressure from a Russia-led alliance. Turkey
Why canceled Arab League summit should worry Israelis Morocco’s decision not to host the Arab League summit has unexpected implications for Israel. Saudi Arabia
The truth about the Saudi executions Why the executions of cleric Nimr al-Nimr and three other Shiites in Saudi Arabia are not the result of Sunni-Shiite sectarianism as many have claimed. Gulf
Will natural gas shelter Iran from oil price crisis? Although Iran faces many challenges in the global natural gas market, the industry also presents plenty of opportunities post-nuclear deal. Gulf
FSA adviser: IS cannot be eliminated without us In an Al-Monitor interview, Osama Abu Zeid, legal adviser for the Free Syrian Army, discusses the FSA's return to the forefront in light of Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian war. Syria
Was Zahran Alloush really a moderate leader? Some have described the late Jaish al-Islam leader Zahran Alloush as a moderate leader, although his fiery anti-Shiite and anti-democracy statements indicate otherwise. Iraq
Turkish-US ties face fresh turbulence over Iraq, Syria Washington’s demand that Turkey withdraw troops from Iraq and the US alliance with Syrian Kurds are potential flashpoints in US-Turkish relations. Iraq
New Mossad chief brings touch of Bond, lots of reality to the job Yossi Cohen, the well-groomed new head of Mossad, has a challenging road ahead in adapting his agency to deal with the diverse and convoluted equations of potential threats to Israel. Israel