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  • The Role of the Middle East in the US-China Race to AI Supremacy

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a pivotal catalyst for global innovation, with the United States at the forefront of the development of this transformative technology amid its ongoing great power rivalry with China. However, a notable concern has emerged: the absence of an explicit conception of AI supremacy that threatens to undermine the US' long-term AI strategy. The notion of AI supremacy traditionally has been difficult to define, paralleling disputes about whether competition over AI is a “race.” This report thus aims to accomplish two objectives: first, to define AI supremacy and anchor this concept in the realities of the AI competition thus far; and second, to revise the US' AI strategy in accordance with a more comprehensive understanding of AI supremacy.

  • Iran weighs intervention as Syrian civil war returns to spotlight

    The Syrian city of Aleppo has fallen to Sunni militants for the first time since 2016 after a lighting offensive. Iran has reacted by moving to rally support for Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is currently on a regional tour of Damascus and Ankara. At the same time, Iran does not seem to be in a rush to significantly expand its direct military presence—possibly to remind Assad that he owes his rule to Tehran’s intervention a decade ago.

  • Why Trump II may be different for Iran, Iraq

    Donald Trump’s first term as president of the United States (2017–21) posed significant challenges for both Iran and Iraq, bringing economic strain, political pressure, and security issues that affected both nations. His policies widened the gap between Iran and various Arab states—nations that Iraq had continuously sought to bring together to foster peace and regional cooperation. Ahead of Trump’s return to the White House, one pressing question now is: what will his second term mean for Iran, Iraq, and Arab-Iranian engagement?

  • Trump picks Massad Boulos to serve as adviser on Arab, Middle Eastern affairs

    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos would serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social. Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, met repeatedly with Arab American and Muslim leaders during the election campaign. It was the second time in recent days that Trump chose the father-in-law of one of his children to serve in his administration. On Saturday, Trump said that he had picked his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, real estate mogul Charles Kushner, to serve as U.S. ambassador to France.

  • At least 25 killed as Russian, Syrian jets intensify bombing of Syrian rebel territory

    At least 25 people were killed in northwestern Syria in air strikes carried out by the Syrian government and Russia, the Syrian opposition-run rescue service known as the White Helmets said early on Monday. Russian and Syrian jets struck the rebel-held city of Idlib in northern Syria on Sunday, military sources said, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush insurgents who had swept into the city of Aleppo.

  • EU and GCC officials aim to resume FTA negotiations

    European and Gulf officials are holding “informal” efforts to “revive” and even “upgrade” negotiations over a free trade agreement between the two blocks. Efforts towards such an agreement are three and a half decades in the making, Luigi Di Maio, the EU’s special envoy to the Gulf has said. “I have to say it’s a very bad symbol of our relationship because unfortunately these trade negotiations have been stuck for 35 years,” Di Maio added.  “There are officials in the [Directorate General] Trade in Brussels that are younger than these negotiations. There are also many officials in the ministries of trade in the GCC states that are younger than these negotiations.” Di Maio was speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington DC while on a trip to Doha, where he inaugurated the EU-GCC business forum.

  • President Sheikh Mohamed receives Saudi Crown Prince on UAE visit

    President Sheikh Mohamed welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the UAE as part of a visit on Sunday. Sheikh Mohamed and the Prince Mohammed held talks on the solid relations between the two countries during their meeting at Al Rawda Palace in Al Ain, followed by a dinner in the Crown Prince's honour. Sheikh Mohamed sent his greetings to Saudi King Salman and his wishes for continued progress and prosperity for the country.

  • Desertification talks open in Saudi Arabia as experts fire warning

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called it a "moonshot moment": a 12-day meeting for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), looking to protect and restore land and respond to drought amid the onslaught of climate change. The last such meeting, or "Conference of the Parties" (COP) to the convention, held in Ivory Coast in 2022, produced a commitment to "accelerating the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030". But the UNCCD, which brings together 196 countries and the European Union, now says 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) must be restored by decade's end to combat crises including escalating droughts.

  • Saudi Arabia may slash January crude prices for Asia

    Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to slash crude prices for Asian buyers in January to the lowest in years, largely tracking a slump in Middle East benchmark prices last month, traders said on Monday. The January official selling price (OSP) for flagship Arab Light may fall by 70 to 90 cents a barrel from December to at least a four-year low, six sources at Asian refineries said in a Reuters survey.

  • COP16 to Begin in Saudi Arabia as World Seeks Urgent Solutions to Land Degradation, Desertification and Drought

    The largest-ever meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is set to kick-off in Riyadh, with an action-packed agenda to drive multilateral action on land degradation, drought and desertification. Dignitaries, policymakers, global institutions, businesses, NGOs and key stakeholders are arriving in Saudi Arabia's capital ahead of a critical conference to accelerate global land restoration and drought resilience initiatives.