Policy Analysis

If there is good news on oil, it isn’t because of Riyadh’s ambiguous remarks about increasing the kingdom’s production capacity.

While a military alliance with U.S. backing seems natural, necessary, and justified, the path to the establishment of a Middle Eastern NATO is barred by regional differences.

With the threat of a Turkish incursion into Northeast Syria, the SDF weighs their options while the area’s civilians express their frustrations and concerns about all parties involved.

A recent poll indicates that though more Gulfis now disapprove of the Abraham Accords, undertones of warming sentiments towards allowing contacts with Israelis are also present.

A new public opinion poll from Gaza shows some pragmatic, short-term moderation toward the U.S. and Israel over the past year, including opposition to Hamas policies. However, long-term views remain hardline, with few changes during the same period.

A panel of veteran diplomats and scholars from the Gulf, Israel, and Washington discuss the trip’s goals and risks, as well as the president’s chances for success.

The administration has signaled its intentions for the trip well in advance, but the realities of Saudi oil capacity and global energy forecasts should temper any U.S. expectations of a quick fix.

Although alternatives to the UN mechanism carry uncertainties of their own, continuing the broken status quo will only boost Moscow, endanger Syrian civilians, and help the Assad regime avoid sanctions—not to mention whetting his appetite for natural gas shipments.

The Gulf capitals and Jerusalem may not agree entirely on what “regional security cooperation” means or what an anti-Iran alliance should look like, but opportunities for other types of cooperation abound.

Iraq’s model of opposition traditionally focuses on ideological frameworks and regime change at the expense of working within the political system to effect change.

Tehran may see the president’s attendance at the GCC+3 summit as a tempting opportunity to scuttle a U.S.-Gulf reset, perhaps by using a cyber or military provocation to humiliate the hosts and demonstrate America’s inability to protect them.

Increased Saudi production will mean little if Libyan production remains unreliable, so it's time to play hardball with Haftar.

Their political temperaments and policy priorities are a good match, but this chemistry does not guarantee progress on Iranian and Palestinian issues during an election year.

Unless the West can prod the Russian people to fundamentally reexamine their core beliefs, any notion that they will take matters into their own hands regarding Putin’s Ukraine war is just wishful thinking.

The meeting itself is the objective, and the more uneventful it is, the more it will be deemed a success.

Although political constraints in Washington, Jerusalem, and Riyadh could make substantive progress hard to come by, a few good photo ops may be all that's needed to deem the visit a success.

A new poll captures East Jerusalem attitudes towards Arab-Israeli rapprochement, involvement from other Arab countries, and the U.S. policy on the conflict.

To avoid past mistakes and counter the most potent threat on its borders, Israel requires an accurate intelligence picture in Lebanon, but Iran and Hezbollah risk destabilizing the situation by chipping away at the IDF’s air superiority.

Efforts to reach an agreement during President Biden’s visit are laudable, but the administration must take care to ensure that any deal with Riyadh preserves the crucial regional security arrangements enshrined in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

A “more for more” agreement might be possible, but only if Iranian leaders are genuinely afraid of what they could lose without one.