Energy & Economics

Policy Analysis on Energy & Economics

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking

Khamenei Continues Playing Hardball in Nowruz Speech

Far from compromising his nuclear position, the Supreme Leader keeps asserting that Iran can neutralize sanctions and solve its economic challenges on its own, both by leveraging domestic capabilities and demonstrating the people’s supposed electoral support for the regime.

Mar 22, 2021

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Omer Carmi

Brief Analysis

To Push Past Hezbollah Stonewalling, Leverage the LAF

The political fallout from a recent speech by the Lebanese Armed Forces commander gives Washington and its partners a golden opportunity to prod the country from crisis management toward actual solutions.

Mar 18, 2021

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Hanin Ghaddar

Brief Analysis

Continued Houthi Strikes Threaten Saudi Oil and the Global Economic Recovery

Saudi Arabia used what Congress might consider “offensive weapons” to successfully defend major oil terminals, but a much more devastating attack is inevitable if Houthi missile and drone attacks persist.

Mar 12, 2021

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Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

Attack on Saudi Oil Facility Means New Headache for Biden

One obvious remedy involves asking Riyadh to end its production cutback, but any such request could be complicated by the administration’s recent friction with the crown prince.

Mar 8, 2021

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Simon Henderson

Assistant secretary of state David Schenker speaks at the Department of State in Washington, DC, alongside secretary of state Mike Pompeo

Video

Brief Analysis

Middle East Policy from Trump to Biden: Views from Inside the State Department’s Near East Bureau

The former assistant secretary of state in charge of the Middle East portfolio from 2019-2021 discusses his time in office and how the region’s challenges and opportunities are evolving at the start of the Biden administration.

March 10, 2021

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David Schenker
Robert Satloff

Protesters hold Syrian and Hezbollah flags

Brief Analysis

Assad Is Giving Biden Every Reason to Prioritize Syria

Even if the growing regional and geopolitical stakes were not sufficient on their own, the regime’s domestic negligence, illegitimacy, and criminality provide ample reason to shake up Washington’s approach.

Mar 3, 2021

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Aaron Y. Zelin
Oula A. Alrifai

Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia

Articles & Testimony

For Better or Worse: Which Way Will US-Saudi Relations Go Under Biden?

The new administration seems to regard Khashoggi’s death as merely the best known of the crown prince’s sins, but it is hard to see an alternative successor in the House of Saud.

Feb 26, 2021

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Simon Henderson

U.S.-Israel cooperation images: in agtech, medicine, military, etc.

In-Depth Reports

Asset Test 2021:

How the U.S. Can Keep Benefiting from Its Alliance with Israel

Areas for especially timely U.S.-Israel cooperation include climate resilience, agtech, and medical research, as well as longstanding work in the military and security arenas.

Feb 24, 2021

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Michael Eisenstadt
David Pollock

◆ Transition 2021

Egyptian and Israeli flags along the Sinai border

Brief Analysis

Israel Secures Egyptian Gas Export Route

A rare visit by an Egyptian cabinet official marks a significant upgrade in bilateral energy ties, though questions remain about Palestinian, Gulf, and environmental issues.

Feb 23, 2021

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Simon Henderson

Brief Analysis

Humanitarian Aid and the Biden Administration: Lessons from Yemen and Syria

Veteran NGO practitioners with deep experience in the aid sector discuss how Washington can help fix flawed approaches to assisting civilians in these two conflict zones.

Jan 25, 2021

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Jan Egeland
Alex Harper
Emma Beals
Jomana Qaddour
Elana DeLozier

Video

Brief Analysis

Gas in Iraqi Kurdistan: Market Realities, Geopolitical Opportunities

U.S. and Iraqi Kurdish officials discuss the future of the region's natural gas sector, including proposals for surmounting various political and commercial hurdles.

Jan 21, 2021

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Matthew Zais
Barozh Aziz
Rob Waller

Articles & Testimony

Is the Saudi “City of the Future” Overly Ambitious?

Major distractions from abroad have not changed the fact that NEOM remains central to the crown prince’s vision for transforming the kingdom, despite its steep political and financial challenges.

Jan 15, 2021

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Simon Henderson

Brief Analysis

New Iranian Bill Aims to Officialize a Policy of Avenging Soleimani and Destroying Israel

In addition to prohibiting any negotiations over Iran’s military power or regional ambitions, the legislation would oblige the government to work toward evicting the United States from the Middle East and destroying Israel within twenty years.

Jan 12, 2021

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Farzin Nadimi

Articles & Testimony

Jordan Must Be Included in Future Israeli-Arab Normalization Deals

One of the most reliable strategic allies in the region has been taken for granted, so the Biden administration will need to steer more diplomatic attention and economic support Amman’s way.

Jan 3, 2021

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Ben Fishman

Brief Analysis

Reform, Not Violence, Will Ease Iraqi Kurdish Protests

In addition to publicly condemning the violent repression of demonstrations, Washington should urge its Kurdish allies to stop stalling on economic reforms at home and budget negotiations with Baghdad.

Dec 10, 2020

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Bilal Wahab

Brief Analysis

Hezbollah Has Created Parallel Financial and Welfare Systems to Manage the Current Crisis

To contain corrupt actors and facilitate reform, the international community must provide alternatives to Hezbollah pharmaceutical and food programs while filling gaps that the group is unable to address.

Dec 9, 2020

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Hanin Ghaddar

Articles & Testimony

The U.S. Should Take a Strategic View Towards Iraq

The country need not be a top foreign policy priority, but the Biden administration would be wise to invest in Iraqi security, unity, and democracy amid competition with Russia, China, and Iran.

Dec 8, 2020

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Anna Borshchevskaya

Articles & Testimony

Is OPEC Finally Beginning to Unravel?

Drastically lowered revenues, changing energy markets, political squabbling, and a new U.S. administration may eventually break the cartel’s cyclical status quo.

Dec 4, 2020

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Simon Henderson

Articles & Testimony

Russia’s Soft Power Projection in the Middle East

Moscow conducts far more soft-power activity in the region than one might suspect, using subversive and opaque versions of the same tools employed by the West.

Dec 4, 2020

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Anna Borshchevskaya

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivers public remarks.

Brief Analysis

Khamenei Speech Sets the Boundaries of Engagement with the West

In his first major address since Joe Biden’s election, the Supreme Leader downplayed the prospect of negotiating an end to U.S. sanctions, instead urging Iranian officials to focus on increasing the country’s self-reliance and solving its deep economic problems.

Nov 30, 2020

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Omer Carmi

Supported by the

Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy

The Washington Institute's Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy embodies the Institute's long-term research focus on the conservative Arab Gulf states -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman -- and the key role these countries play collectively as a primary source of the world's oil and natural gas.

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Featured experts

Patrick Clawson

Patrick Clawson is the Morningstar Senior Fellow and Research Counselor at The Washington Institute.

Simon Henderson

Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf.