Saudi Arabia News & Analysis

Upheavals in the longstanding security architecture of the Middle East are causing Egypt to rethink its longstanding policy of strategic balancing and possibly giving way to a new ‘Sunni Axis’ with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.

Gulf leaders are being forced to decide whether to remain in a defensive posture or join offensive operations against Iran to reestablish credibility. The wrong move could lock the region into a cycle of infrastructure warfare that lasts years.

Delving into the data on lost oil volumes transiting the Strait of Hormuz, strategic reserves around the world, and how the global economy will effect a slow yet painful transition in the event of an extended closure.

This week we examine fallout from the US military’s capture of President Maduro in Venezuela, cascading Saudi-UAE tensions over Yemen, and a new protest movement sweeping Iran.

The Mukalla airstrikes in Yemen represent a critical inflection point in Gulf security dynamics, exposing deepening fissures in Saudi–UAE coordination and signaling a potential reconfiguration of regional security priorities.

Renewed US–Saudi alignment, a structured Quad framework, and consistent behind-the-scenes diplomatic are fueling hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Sudan civil war. But the odds remain stacked against peace.

This week we cover the corruption scandal in Ukraine which triggered the latest round of ongoing peace efforts, new suspected hybrid warfare attacks in Poland, the sale of a new missile defense system to Taiwan, and the long-resisted approval of F-35 sales to Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan has been able to thread the needle between two superpowers despite cascading political and economic crisis at home. Here’s how Islamabad is pulling it off.

If managed with prudence and transparency, the Saudi–Pakistan defense deal can act as a stabilizer: a practical tool to safeguard trade and prevent adventurism. Poor management, however, risks turning it into another point of regional contention.

Trump has pivoted from democracy to the ‘Arab way’ in the Middle East. This doesn’t just risk US moral credibility; it also sets the stage for the next wave of regional stability, with consequences that will reverberate for decades.

Geopolitics and shared interests have driven the Kingdom and Israel together, such that at one point normalization appeared inevitable. October 2023 changed all that - but perhaps not for long.

Trump will bring a long list of asks when he visits the Middle East for the first formal trip of his second term. But the Gulf states are not passive actors, and they will be making requests of their own.

Sovereign wealth funds are transforming into vehicles for industrial policy, economic warfare, political patronage, and strategic alliance-building – and the Trump administration is now looking to join the club.

Through its association with Saudi Arabia and other Middle East states, Japan must find a way to lead on human rights again. The growing partnership with Riyadh stands as a critical test.

Exploring the constellation of proxies and armed groups that underpin political power and levers of external influence across the Middle East.