Amine Ayoub

Middle East Forum Fellow based in Morocco

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May 9, 2025, 2:36 PM

Morocco’s Power Play during Iberian Blackout Redraws Strategic Lines

The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI , received the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, at the Royal Palace in Rabat on February 21, 2024. (AFP)

On April 28, 2025, the Iberian Peninsula experienced a sudden and crippling power failure that brought large parts of Spain, Portugal, and southern France to a standstill. In just five seconds, Spain lost more than 15 gigawatts of electricity—approximately...

May 2, 2025, 6:24 PM

Algeria’s Wartime Mobilization Law: The Domino Reshaping North African Security

In Algiers, during the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence on July 5, 2022.
RYAD KRAMDI / AFP

Algeria’s draft mobilization bill, approved by cabinet on April 20 to implement Article 99 of its constitution, grants sweeping emergency powers—requisitioning private assets, directing industrial output, imposing censorship and curfews—whenever the president declares a “major crisis.” While ostensibly aimed...

Apr 29, 2025, 7:31 AM

Atlantic Lifeline: Morocco’s Ports as America’s Shield Against Sahel Terror

THOMAS SAMSON/AFP

The foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—having withdrawn from ECOWAS and formally established the Alliance of Sahel States—declared their intention to shift all trade through Morocco’s Atlantic ports, abandoning reliance on Algeria’s faltering corridors. While this decision...

Apr 26, 2025, 1:22 AM

Red Lines and Realities: Rethinking U.S. Leverage on Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Presidency shows Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaking during a televised interview in the capital of Tehran on August 31, 2024. (HANDOUT / Iranian Presidency / AFP)

In Washington, the return of nuclear diplomacy with Iran is unfolding with a sense of déjà vu. Familiar assumptions drive the agenda: that Tehran can be enticed with economic relief, that international inspectors can meaningfully monitor its nuclear progress,...

Apr 25, 2025, 5:21 PM

The EU Says Tunisia Is Safe — That’s a Dangerous Lie

(AFP / Fethi Belaid)

In the EU’s latest performance of political theater, Tunisia — a country actively jailing its opposition, silencing journalists, and sentencing critics to 66 years in prison — has been declared “safe.” Not for its own citizens, mind you. Just...

Apr 21, 2025, 6:49 PM

Russia just embraced the Taliban — the world barely blinked

Moscow saw an opportunity to remake the global order in its own image -- in which values are irrelevant, alliances are fluid, and power is the only currency that matters

Apr 19, 2025, 3:44 PM

Trump’s Tariffs: A Shock That Could Spare North Africa Another Arab Spring

The Arab Spring began with desperation—economic stagnation, unemployment, and a lack of opportunity igniting unrest across North Africa. More than a decade later, the same conditions linger in many countries from Tunisia to Libya. But today, a new factor...

Apr 19, 2025, 3:26 PM

Algeria and Mali: A Dangerous Rift at the Heart of the Sahel

A single drone downed near Algeria’s southern border has exposed the depth of a crisis with potential to destabilize an already volatile region. On April 1, Algeria shot down a Malian drone it claimed had breached its airspace. Mali...

Apr 17, 2025, 5:45 AM

Iran’s Underground Economy Is a Mafia State in Disguise Coming for the West

In Iran, it is widely understood that the official government plays a secondary role in governance, while the real power lies with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Ministers may change, elections may come and go, but the true decision-making apparatus...

Apr 4, 2025, 12:07 AM

Erdogan’s Turkey is Weaponizing Illegal Immigration – Europe Must Wake Up

For years, Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has played a dangerous game with Europe, using illegal immigration as a political weapon. This strategy, a form of hybrid warfare, is designed to destabilize European nations, extract concessions, and advance...

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About Me

Amine Ayoub, a writing fellow with the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco.

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