SUSTG.com / Research

Discover stories, topics, and more about Saudi Arebia faster.

Recent stories from sustg

MUST-READS

  • Palestinian Mandela? Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned preacher of unity.

    Serving five life sentences after being convicted by an Israeli court for involvement in militant killings in the second intifada, Mr. Barghouti remains the rare – perhaps the only – figure trusted by all Palestinian factions. With his release from Israeli prison demanded by Fatah’s rival, Hamas, and even advocated by a former Israeli spy chief, the mere possibility of Mr. Barghouti’s return to the scene is stirring up Palestinian politics, and hope, at a historic crossroads

  • Israel Unleashed? A Brazen Campaign Against Iranian Targets Could Backfire

    On April 1, Israel launched its latest attack on Iran in the two countries’ ongoing shadow war, with an airstrike that flattened a section of Iran’s embassy complex in Damascus and reportedly killed at least 12 people. Among the dead was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who headed Iran’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon, where he worked for decades and became a close interlocutor with Hezbollah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The strike also killed Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Zahedi’s deputy, and at least five other officers in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

  • Israel-Gaza war updates: What is happening now, six months on?

    Six months since Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel on a killing spree, Israel's ground campaign to annihilate the Islamist movement has turned much of the Gaza Strip into a wasteland with an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. Mediators have been trying to organise the first extended truce of the war to rush in aid to feed the Palestinian territory's 2.3 million people and secure the release of some of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

  • Saudi to Dubai in an hour? Hyperloop chief sees GCC transport link as ‘possible’

    Andres de Leon, chief executive of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (Hyper-loopTT), revealed that “conversations have been had” with countries in the GCC – including the UAE and Saudi Arabia – to bring the mass transport system to the region. Plans to bring a hyperloop prototype to Northern Italy - between Venice and Padua – through a joint venture between the Italian government and private investors reignited interest in the project. That system – which aims to be the world’s first working passenger system and will propel people between cities in pods more than twice as fast as high-speed rail net-works and far more sustainably – aims to be up and running between 2028 and 2030, de Leon said

  • Why are more Middle East investors seeking US property deals?

    “Distressed opportunities that are starting to arise not only because some people need to sell to reimburse their investors but also for refinancing,” Fadi Moussalli, executive director and head of capital markets and international capital coverage of Mena at JLL told The National. “Today, if someone who has a loan that is maturing and is unable to secure decent debt terms … [he/she] has no choice but to sell, banks are no longer lending with the same appetite.”

  • Moscow attack shows growing reach of ISIS-K. Could the US be next?

    A deadly attack in Moscow on March 22, 2024, exposed the vulnerability of the Russian capital to the threat of the Islamic State group and its affiliate ISIS-K. But it also displayed the reach of the network, leading some terror experts to ponder: Could a U.S. city be next? There has not been a mass casualty assault in the U.S. carried out in the name of the Islamic State group since 2017, when a truck mowed down cyclists and pedestrians on a New York City bikeway, leaving eight dead.

  • Gaza war helps Iran repair image in region—but for how long?

    Israel’s assault on Gaza has in some ways proven to be a boon for Iran, furthering some of its strategic objectives and boosting its reputation in the region. In Nov. 2023, a report by the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy found that an average of 40% of respondents in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria said Iran’s actions have had a positive impact on the war. In Egypt and Syria, such sentiments were expressed by half of respondents.

  • Does US deterrence work against Iran’s allies? Yes and no.

    “What really shook them up [the militias and the Iranians] was the targeted killing of the logistics commander in Baghdad,” says Kenneth Katzman, a veteran Middle East analyst and senior fellow at The Soufan Center, a global intelligence and security consultancy in New York.  The strike, he says, was proof of exceptionally precise locational intelligence. He adds that it “showed that the U.S. is willing to employ the same strategy it used on Al Qaeda and the Islamic State – a targeted killing strategy that … convinced” the militias and Iran “that Washington is going to use all elements of its intelligence and capabilities to go after them if they continue.”

  • Will the Gaza War Derail the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor?

    The corridor is envisioned as a maritime and rail trade route connecting India to the Middle East through countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel as well as to various parts of Europe. The project carries significant geopolitical implications: Built on India’s sustained effort to strengthen relations with Arab and European states, the corridor is supported by the United States as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative that will bolster regional integration.

  • Germany Blocked A Eurofighter Sale To Saudi Arabia, Then Lifted It. Will Berlin Do The Same With Turkey?

    Turkey wants to buy 40 Eurofighters and was revealed in late 2023 to be in talks on a deal with the United Kingdom and Spain. While London and Madrid would happily sell Ankara Typhoons, they can only do so with German approval since Germany is a member of the consortium that developed and built the Eurofighter. Germany is reluctant to approve any deal given its opposition to numerous Turkish government policies, including Ankara’s condemnation of Israel, attacks against Syrian Kurds, acquisition of advanced Russian missiles, and natural gas drilling in the East Mediterranean.