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Sep 20, 2026, 4:31 PM

Houthis’ Threats and Pakistan’s Resolve

The recent threats from Yemen's Houthi movement towards Pakistan and Türkiye are hard to misinterpret. When Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a key figure in Ansar Allah, warned that Pakistan would face an “iron fist” if it intervened on behalf of Saudi...

Sep 18, 2026, 7:02 PM

The Mecca Pact: An alliance on paper

Confronted by the Houthis, Riyadh discovers the fragility of Its alliances—and the unacknowledged usefulness of Israel

Jose Lev Alvarez Gomez

Sep 18, 2026, 5:16 AM

Israel Must Protect the Mecca Holy Sites

Fifth-century Yemen supplies the modern State of Israel with a vital historical precedent that Middle East analysts foolishly ignore. When the Himyarite Jewish king Abu Kariba As’ad marched to raze the Kaaba, two traveling rabbis halted the demolition by...

Sheldon Kirshner

Sep 17, 2026, 8:22 PM

The Middle East Is Enmeshed In A Regional War

Hamas launched its invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023 with the broad intention of igniting a regional war whose end result would be Israel's destruction. While Hamas clearly failed to destroy Israel, which has since grown stronger...

Sep 17, 2026, 4:38 AM

Saudi Arabia: The Mecca Pact’s Mecca Test

The Maritime Pincer Closes: Bab el-Mandeb, the Pipeline, and the Mecca Test Five days after posting my blog Key Strategic Issues in the Escalating Saudi-Houthi Conflict, every hedge in that piece has resolved, and mostly in the direction that piece...

Sep 16, 2026, 11:01 PM

The Houthis Just Set Up Israel’s Checkmate. Here’s the Move.

AI-generated illustration / OpenAI

Israel helps Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Saudi Arabia recognizes Israel, opens its doors to Gazans, and declares the conflict over. Earlier this month, Houthi missiles and drones hit southwestern Saudi Arabia. Dozens of civilians were wounded and energy facilities went...

Yaakov Chaliotis

Sep 16, 2026, 3:06 PM

Three Thousand Missiles Later: Why the Abraham Accords Didn’t Break

When the Abraham Accords were signed six years ago today, the objection from sceptics was not that they were undesirable but that they were untested. Normalisation between Israel and three Arab states, brokered in a period of relative calm,...

Mahdi Ismail Abokor

Sep 16, 2026, 5:16 AM

Somaliland’s Washington Moment: A Nation Ready to Be a Strategic Partner

Somaliland's Washington Moment: A Nation Ready to Be a Strategic Partner Somaliland's diplomatic journey has entered a new and consequential phase. On September 14, President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi "Irro" stood before the Hudson Institute in Washington and made a...

Purna Lal Chakma

Sep 12, 2026, 11:29 AM

Could Saudi Arabia Collapse and Would Islamists Fill the Vacuum?

$Saudi Arabia under growing regional pressure, with the empty throne symbolizing the question of who could fill the vacuum if the monarchy ever fractured. AI-created by the author.$

Could Saudi Arabia collapse? At the moment, the answer appears to be no. The kingdom still has enormous financial resources, powerful security institutions, substantial oil wealth and a ruling family that retains firm control of the state. But history suggests...

Purna Lal Chakma

Sep 11, 2026, 6:49 PM

Why Do Islamists Rise After Governments Fall in Muslim-Majority Countries?

From left: Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, and Bashar al-Assad of Syria — leaders who left their countries during major political upheavals that ended their rule.

When a powerful government falls in a Muslim-majority country, the first question is usually who will govern next. But perhaps a more important question is this: who is still organised enough to compete for power when the old political...

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