Middle East Policy

While Ankara presents itself as a humanitarian partner in Sudan, Turkish drones and military support are helping sustain a war that has devastated Darfur and displaced millions. By Hayvi Bouzo Somewhere in North Darfur, a family hears a sound they have learned to dread: the low hum of a drone they cannot see and cannot outrun. When it strikes, it may hit a market, a displacement camp, or a home. The drone is a Bayraktar, built in Istanbul by a NATO ally. The country under att

Gulf security officials warn that Tehran is increasingly relying on covert intelligence networks, religious influence channels, and local operatives to support espionage and wartime targeting efforts across the Arabian Peninsula. By Moataz Khalil AI generated photo Since Iran unleashed its latest wave of aggression against the Gulf Arab states, a troubling reality has emerged from the region's security services: Tehran appears to be relying not only on missiles, drones, and p

What Stands Behind the Recent Israel-Iran Escalation and Where Is It Headed? A few notes on theater linkage, escalation dominance, deniability, and the U.S.-Israel good-cop/bad-cop dynamic. By Dan Feferman AI generated photo of Bibi Netanyahu and Mojtaba Khamenei On June 7, Iran launched an unprovoked missile strike on northern Israel, ostensibly in response to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions in Beirut. The attack prompted Israeli reprisals against Iranian targets, fol

Recent moves by Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali expose a growing inconsistency in U.S. policy toward Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq and Lebanon. By Hussain Abdul-Hussain Map of Iraq Iraq's Militias Begin Surrendering Their Weapons Two of Iraq's most powerful Iran-backed militias, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, recently agreed to place their weapons under state authority, marking the most significant step yet toward dismantling Tehran's network of armed prox

By Dr. Walid Phares AI photo with the flags of Israel, Lebanon and Iran As Israel intensifies military pressure on Hezbollah in Lebanon, a strategic question is emerging across the region: could ongoing negotiations with Iran eventually limit Israel's campaign against Tehran's most powerful regional proxy? While Washington and Jerusalem remain aligned in their opposition to Hezbollah, recent developments suggest that their priorities may not be identical. For Israel, prevent

The new U.S.-brokered Lebanon-Israel agreement aims to weaken Hezbollah's hold over southern Lebanon, strengthen Lebanese sovereignty, and create a path toward lasting security and stability along the Israeli-Lebanese border. By Hayvi Bouzo AI generated photo of the flags of Israel and Lebanon For the first time in four decades, Lebanese and Israeli diplomats sat across from each other at the U.S. State Department and negotiated directly. No proxy messengers, no back channels

Sources: Dahlan initiated the recent meeting in Abu Dhabi amid growing perceptions among some Emirati officials that his regional political influence is in decline. By Moataz Khalil AI generated photo of Abu Dhabi with a map of the Gaza Strip Inside Israeli and Emirati Thinking on Gaza's Future ME24 Exclusive Analysis: The leaked meeting between Shin Bet chief David Zini and former Palestinian Authority security official Mohammed Dahlan highlights growing Israeli uncertainty

Twenty-five years after Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah continues to celebrate May 25 as a historic victory. Yet for thousands of Lebanese families who fled across the border, it marked the beginning of exile, displacement, and a story Lebanon has never fully confronted. By Tony Boulos AI generated image with the Lebanese flag For more than a quarter century, Hezbollah has portrayed May 25, 2000—the day Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon—as a historic

President Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran surrender what he calls its "nuclear dust." Is he actually talking about “dust”? In reality, he is referring to hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium buried beneath damaged nuclear facilities—a stockpile that could dramatically shorten Tehran's path to a nuclear weapon. Any deal with Iran must take this into consideration. By Dan Feferman AI generated image of Trump and one of its statements Since the February 28 jo

The 2026 Iran-US/Israel War showed just how Gulf security, economic dependence, and regime survival continue to shape Egyptian foreign policy under El-Sisi Flags of Egypt, KSA and UAE By Dr. Nervana Mahmoud Egypt’s response to the 2026 Iran-Israel-U.S. escalation revealed the deeper logic driving Egyptian foreign policy under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. While Cairo initially attempted to balance diplomacy, mediation, and regional neutrality, Iranian attacks on Gulf states

While Saudi Arabia pushes forward with Vision 2030 at home, its tactical alliances in Yemen and Sudan risk sparking a dangerous Muslim Brotherhood revival abroad. Discover why Mohammed bin Salman's foreign policy contradictions might ultimately threaten his entire modernization project.

How Riyadh and Abu Dhabi Are Redefining Regional Deterrence By Ahmed Al Khuzaie AI generated photo describing the issue of the article within a creative image The alleged Saudi and Emirati strikes on Iranian territory in March and April 2026 may represent a historic turning point in Gulf security doctrine. For decades, Gulf states relied primarily on diplomacy, deterrence, and Western alliances while avoiding direct military confrontation with Tehran. That now appears to be c

How Islamist Movements, Regional Militias, and Weak States Are Fueling Instability Across the Region By Tony Boulos AI generated photo with explanatory graphics and maps For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has sought to present itself internationally as a moderate Islamist reform movement shaped primarily by anti-colonial politics, religious conservatism, and social activism. Yet across large parts of the Middle East and Africa, many governments and analysts increasingly view

By Abdulaziz Alkhamis AI generated image of the flags of Iran, KSA and Israel When Fear Is Disguised as Wisdom There are articles that do not analyze politics so much as sedate it. They dress fear in the robes of wisdom, put a diplomatic tie on cowardice, and then ask people to applaud the scene as “foresight.” The argument that Saudi Arabia succeeded simply because it did not get dragged in to a war with Iran, and that the entire danger lay in an “Israeli trap,” belongs to t

By Moataz Khalil AI generated image As the confrontation between Iran, Israel, and the United States intensified in early 2026, attention across the region focused not only on military escalation and diplomatic maneuvering, but also on the role of media in shaping the conflict itself. At the center of this discussion once again stood Al Jazeera, Qatar’s flagship news network, whose coverage during the crisis has renewed long-standing questions about the relationship between j

By Ahmed Khuzaie AI-generated photo of flags of some of the nations in the Abraham Accords in Jerusalem A New Gulf Perspective on Israel After the War In light of the recent war, Israeli media has renewed its focus on the Gulf’s evolving stance toward normalization with Israel and the possibility of expanding the Abraham Accords. The conflict has shifted perceptions across parts of the region, with public opinion increasingly viewing Iran as a more immediate threat than Israe

Why Peace between the US and Iran looks impossible and might always be AI generated photo of Iran's and U.S. flags By: Ahmed Khuzaie Anyone following the long confrontation between Washington and Tehran knows that talk of real peace is closer to illusion than reality. After decades of hostility, threats and posturing still define the relationship, while public statements often aim more to shape perception than signal genuine progress. What we’re seeing today is not a serious

Tony Boulos is a Lebanese journalist and political analyst specializing in Middle East security and geopolitics. A frequent commentator on Arab and international TV, he provides expert insights into the region’s complex landscape. Boulos is a regular ME24 contributor, delivering strategic analysis on the most pressing issues in the Middle East.

AI generated image of a map of the Gulf region shows several countries with their national flags Iran has emerged as a serious and immediate threat to the Arab Gulf states, yet their responses reveal a mix of anger, caution and strategic hedging. The UAE stands out both as a primary target of Iranian strikes and as the state most visibly shifting toward a more assertive posture against Tehran. Iran’s response to US Israeli strikes has been to widen the battlefield across the

Mojtaba Khamenei is inheriting a country at war. Since the early 2000s, he has acted as an influential behind-the-scenes operator with proximity to IRGC.