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
Iran hedges its bets in Syria After joining the Vienna II talks on Syria, Iran continues to hedge its bets, including beefing up the Syrian National Defense Forces, to ensure its ability to protect its interests in the country and the region. Syria
Ethiopian water minister determined to continue Renaissance Dam construction In an Al-Monitor interview in Cairo, Ethiopian Minister for Water, Irrigation and Energy Motuma Mekasa expressed his country's determination to continue construction on the Renaissance Dam despite the lack of studies on its impact. Egypt
How to defeat the Islamic State To defeat the Islamic State, the world powers need a clear-cut, unified strategy to guide the war on terrorism. Gulf
Will religiously divided landfills solve Lebanon's trash crisis? Garbage is piling ever higher across Lebanon as political parties refuse to allow waste from outside their areas to be disposed in their constituency. Lebanon
Will AKP victory change Turkey's foreign policy? If the new Turkish government fails to take advantage of its electoral mandate to make necessary revisions in foreign policy, events on the ground might force its hand anyway. Egypt
Remembering Rabin's road On this year's anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, Israelis should rethink their national priorities going forward. Palestine
Merkel's 'indecent proposal' to Erdogan German Chancellor Angela Merkel's impromptu visit to Istanbul on behalf of the EU was highly criticized as a desperate gift to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey's elections draw close. Turkey
Is Russian intervention in Syria pushing 'moderate jihadis' toward Islamic State? Russia's attacks on "moderate jihadi" groups appears to be pushing them to consider the possibility of uniting under the umbrella of the Islamic State. Syria
Zarif calls for talks with Saudi Arabia Speaking with Arab media, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran and Saudi Arabia have the same interests and challenges and should work together. Gulf
Jordanian palace silent on Russian intervention in Syria Some commentators argue that Jordan's lack of comment on Russia's involvement in Syria is related to the kingdom's acceptance of Moscow's position that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad be part of a postwar transitional phase. Gulf
Will Saudi Arabia give up hajj management? The harsh criticism by various Muslim countries and other parties of Saudi Arabia over the most recent hajj tragedy may prompt the kingdom to take drastic steps to protect its reputation. Saudi Arabia
Saudi religious scholars enraged over Moscow's recent Syria strikes Saudi ulama would rather see action against Assad than against the Islamic State, but could their stance be seen as a call to jihad? Gulf