ROBBINS: Hi. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today’s Council on Foreign Relations conference call on U.S.-Saudi relations at the crossroads. We’re very lucky to have with us Steven A. Cook, who is Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council and the author of False Dawn: Protests, Democracy, and Violence…
Khashoggi’s brutal killing could lead to charges against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman under international law. But experts say the Saudis will ‘never go along.’ A composite image of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Associated Press/Virginia Mayo; Nicolas Asfouri – Pool/Getty The killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi could potentially…
Eighteen Saudis are said to have been arrested as the kingdom “expresses its deep regret” over Mr Khashoggi’s death. Authorities have audio of Mr Khashoggi being tortured and murdered, according to Turkish media Saudi Arabia has said Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul after a fight broke out. Mr Khashoggi, 59, went…
Aden, Yemen, Oct 19, 2018 / 04:00 am (CNA).- The possibility of mass starvation in Yemen continues as a military engagement over a major port city could block food and other aid for millions of people. “We cannot fail to be moved by the news coming from Yemen, of families ripped apart by this…
Sir John Sawers says theory that rogue Saudi military officers were responsible is ‘blatant fiction’ Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP A former head of MI6 has said all the evidence suggests Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and that the theory that rogue…
On Sunday, Israel’s Hadashot News Company reported on a new Russian plan to help Iran skirt the looming U.S. sanctions on its oil program. According to the report, which was based off a document compiled by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Iran will ship its crude oil to Russia for refining via the Caspian Sea. Russia…
Iranian soldiers prepare to launch airstrikes [file photo] Iran has begun withdrawing its fighters from areas in northern and northeastern Syria for more than two weeks, Kuwait’s Al-Jarida reported yesterday. According to the paper, the Iranians have also evacuated a number of important sites in various parts of Syria, especially the T-4 airbase which was fully handed…
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, right, meeting with Iran’s defense minister Amir Hatami, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 26, 2018. WASHINGTON — While Russian and Iranian-backed Bashar al-Assad’s regime is consolidating its grip on most areas once controlled by various rebel groups in Syria, Iran’s involvement…
For more than one week, the House of Saud has been under fire for its ties to the United States and its crackdown on dissidents. First, U.S. President Donald Trump shared details of his most recent conversation with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to a group of his supporters in Mississippi, where Trump told him that…
The Islamic State (ISIS) still maintains large financial assets and a steady revenue stream even after losing 98 percent of its territory in Syria and Iraq, according to a report from Foreign Policy magazine published Wednesday. As noted in a report by Colin Clarke, the terrorist organization has lost 98 percent of its territory across the Middle East and is still…