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Geopolitics / Middle East

Treading Cautiously as Iran's Power Struggle Unfolds

Mar 21, 2012 at 17:51 | Charles Kennedy

The intelligence “leak” game that has intentionally provided the Obama Administration a temporary way out from under Republican and Israeli pressure to strike Iran is a fortuitous one that perhaps…

Game is on to Control Yemen's Oil

Mar 19, 2012 at 18:43 | Charles Kennedy

Whoever manages to control Yemen’s state resources, and particularly its oil, will be able to wield control over the country’s tribes by restoring the system of patronage relied on by…

With Iran, How Hard Do Sanctions Really Bite?

Mar 05, 2012 at 18:02 | Daniel J. Graeber

Sanctions on the Iranian financial sector appear to be taking their toll. Planned oil embargoes by the European Union could be seen as largely symbolic moves by opponents of the…

Imagination Can be a Dangerous Thing: Why Iran Must be Denied Nuclear Weapons

Jan 29, 2012 at 19:45 | James Burgess

In this essay I take a look at some scenarios that could arise following the successful development of the Iranian nuclear program, after which I think the reasons why so…

Yemen - What Next? Replay of 1979 Iranian Revolution?

Jan 23, 2012 at 17:59 | John Daly

On 22 January 70 year-old Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, having ruled since 1978, left the Yemeni capital Sanaa onboard a private jet bound for who knows where, but apparently…

Iran: The Renewable Energy Carrot .vs. The Stick of War

Jan 21, 2012 at 10:51 | Juan Cole

As Iran proceeds ahead with its nuclear program, its tensions with the United States continue to heighten over concerns that it is secretly pursuing a nuclear weapons capability. Israelis view…

China Economic Clout and Nuclear Expertise Invades Saudi Arabia

Jan 17, 2012 at 20:38 | John Daly

Ever since the end of World War Two, the U.S. has come to regard Saudi Arabia as almost its exclusive oil producing enclave. In February 1945, after the Yalta…

Afghanistan: The Pressure is Now on Central Asian Supply Route

Dec 08, 2011 at 17:08 | Deirdre Tynan

The Northern Distribution Network, the key re-supply route for US and NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan, is set to experience a spike in traffic due to the closure of the…

Saudi Prince Calls for Kingdom to Acquire WMDs

Dec 06, 2011 at 18:19 | John Daly

So much for peace in the Middle East. On 5 December Prince bin Turki al Faisal, speaking at the “The Gulf and the Globe” conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh …

Could War Flare Again Between Iraq and Kuwait?

Dec 06, 2011 at 18:17 | John Daly

According to Iraqi Council of Representatives Oil and Energy Committee member Furat al-Sharei, the 10 oil fields that spread across the Iraqi-Kuwaiti frontier are still waiting to have a line…

Airstrike Against Iranian Nuclear Facilities Could Kill 100s of North Koreans and Russians

Nov 16, 2011 at 17:25 | John Daly

As the drums for direct military intervention to derail Iran’s purported covert military nuclear weapons program beat louder in both Jerusalem and Washington, an overlooked issue is the possibility of…

Iran and Northern Iraq - Thaw North of Baghdad?

Nov 02, 2011 at 08:42 | John Daly

Iraq’s announcement last week that U.S. forces would be required to leave Iraq under terms of the Status of Forces Agreement by 31 December blindsided Washington, and aroused predictable partisan…

Iran and the Bomb: How Far Away is Iran from Producing a Nuclear Weapon

Oct 18, 2011 at 07:38 | Editorial Dept

This article is no longer available. For more energy news please visit the homepage

Caspian - Zone of Peace or "Northern Front?"

Oct 14, 2011 at 07:53 | John Daly

As tensions between Washington and Tehran rise exponentially over the case of a purported assassination plot against Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., some American politicians are calling for military…

Iranian Bushehr Nuclear Plant Comes Online - World Survives

Sep 14, 2011 at 21:38 | John Daly

On 12 September Iran brought its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr online, connecting it to the country's electrical grid. Iranian officials at the opening ceremony said that the 1,000…

Israel and Turkey - Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

Sep 08, 2011 at 08:08 | John Daly

September promises to be an epochal month, as the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday night told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a telephone call that he…

Russia Set to Lose Billions in Libya

Sep 05, 2011 at 08:13 | RFE/RL staff

Russia's belated recognition of Libya’s provisional leadership on September 1 carried a hint of desperation. For months, Moscow had refused to recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC), was reluctant to…

The Trial of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak - The Trial of the 21st Century

Aug 05, 2011 at 07:48 | John Daly

Given the fiscal bloodletting in Wall Street and London on Wednesday, the West and its bureaucrats be forgiven for its internal financial navel-gazing. Nevertheless, a historic moment is occurring…

The Strategic Importance of Bahrain to Saudi Arabia

Jun 29, 2011 at 08:10 | The Oil Drum

The small archipelago nation of Bahrain can't seem to stay out of the news lately, as the government continues its containment of civil protests that it perceives as a threat…

Qatar: The Arab World’s Rising Star

Apr 15, 2011 at 08:59 | Open Democracy

In recent weeks, the Gulf state of Qatar has emerged as a leading advocate of international intervention on the side of the anti-Gaddafi rebels in Libya. It organised the politically-crucial…

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