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Hezbollah and Israel will avoid intentional escalation

Location:

LEBANON

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah -- a Shia militant group and political party -- last month announced that the organisation would shoot down any Israeli drones in…

Gaza war will test Saudi-Iranian rapprochement

Location:

IRAN/SAUDI ARABIA

The call was the first between the leaders since Tehran and Riyadh restored diplomatic relations in March 2023. As well signalling a positive step in building relations, it was…

Lebanese politics signals shift away from sectarianism

Location:

LEBANON

Shifting voting patterns in Lebanon.

Qatar’s elected Shura Council may invite voter apathy

Location:

QATAR

The Shura Council was first proposed in 2003 but fears that it would prove a combative institution prompted the authorities three times to postpone its introduction. Since it was…

Lebanon’s political paralysis will continue

Location:

LEBANON

Lebanon is experiencing a political vacuum against the backdrop of an economic meltdown. Politicians have failed to elect a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended on October 31…

Middle East outlook is poised on US election outcome

Location:

MIDDLE EAST/US

The two candidates differ on the timing, scope and scale of US regional engagement. Biden was a strong critic of the policy changes Trump introduced regarding the 2015 Iran…

Syria will struggle to address acute energy shortages

Location:

SYRIA

This is part of a wider energy crisis that is also evident in the long queues outside petrol stations and in the difficulty that bakeries face in securing fuel, on top of the…

Riyadh’s radical power centralisation risks a backlash

Location:

SAUDI ARABIA

This follows the detentions on November 4 of multiple important royal family members, ministers and former ministers, most notably the powerful head of the National Guard.

Israeli anti-Hezbollah axis with Riyadh will weaken

Location:

ISRAEL

He exhorted Riyadh to take the “golden opportunity” of a strategic alliance with Washington to confront Iranian extremism, and threatened to attack the advanced missile factories…