The Warsaw Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East, held on Feb. 13-14, was hosted by the U.S. Department of State and the Polish Foreign Ministry. Many issues such as terrorism, extremism, missile development, maritime trade and security and violent non-state actors were discussed throughout the conference. However, the…
The Middle East is a collection of countries that, by and large, do not work and play well together. It is not going to get better any time soon. A half-century ago, the author received his first real taste of how professionals viewed international relations — beyond the daily, often-scary headlines in the middle of…
‘We have set the conditions in the Middle East where these countries are now working together across multiple fronts,’ top US diplomat tells Fox News US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is interviewed by Fox News on January 3, 2019. (Screen capture: YouTube) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday the Trump administration has…
WSJ says Saudi effort to forge ties with Israel is sputtering after crown prince was implicated in journalist’s murder. Prince Mohammed’s role has weakened after Khashoggi’s murder, the Wall Street Journal wrote [File: Sergio Moraes/ Reuters] A covert US-backed initiative to improve ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel is facing setbacks after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman…
Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers, chaired by King Salman, on Tuesday approved the state budget for the fiscal year 2019, the Center for International Communication said in a statement. Public spending in this budget is envisaged at SAR 1.106 trillion, approximately 7 percent higher than the projected expenditure by the end of fiscal year 2018….
In a gaggle with a small group of journalists on Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told me that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been “careless at times” and “has to lose the thuggish nature in which he has been acting.” Haley’s robust comments go further than other Trump administration…
A handout picture made available by the Iranian Army office reportedly shows a Sayad missile fired from the Talash missile system during an air defence drill at an undisclosed location in Iran on November 5, 2018. (File/AFP) Iran has pressed on with its ballistic missile programme after reining in much of its nuclear programme under…
The tiny, energy-rich Arab nation of Qatar announced Monday it will withdraw from OPEC in January, a rebuke of the Saudi-dominated cartel as the kingdom’s boycott of Doha continues unabated and a crucial meeting of the group looms this week. The surprise declaration could make Qatar the first Middle East nation to leave the cartel…
“Oil is becoming less and less of a reason to stay in the Middle East because we’re producing more oil now than we’ve ever produced,” Trump said. We have reached a point where we don’t have to stay in the Middle East. One reason to stay is Israel,” US president Donald Trump said on…
Danish FM cites Khashoggi death and Riyadh’s role in Yemen war, as US announces peace talks to start next month. A woman holds a poster during the funeral prayers in absentia for Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed last month in the Saudi Arabia consulate, in Istanbul, November 16, 2018. (AP/Emrah Gurel) Denmark is…