MUST-READS

• U.S. Congress and Iran
  U.S. lawmakers pausing on Iran sanctions over nuclear talks

  But many lawmakers seem to be having second thoughts about their vows to immediately hit Iran with new economic penalties if Tehran's negotiators didn't agree to curb the nation's controversial nuclear program in negotiations that reached a one-year deadline last week. Instead, it appears that additional penalties probably will be delayed at least four months, which is the latest deadline for the negotiations between Iran and six world powers.

  • RCSS (Cairo) - Challenges facing the Iranian economy
  • ME Eye - Iran deal more than a nuclear issue
  • Al-Arabiya - Does Qassem Suleimani’s media exposure benefit Iran?
  • Brookings Institution - Addressing America's Challenges in the Middle East, Hillary Clinton Backs Diplomacy with Iran
• U.S. Military Spending
  The Pentagon’s Sophie’s Choice Moment

  Simply put, under projected defense budgets the Pentagon will not be able to maintain both adequate strategic forces and conventional capabilities. One will have to be sacrificed to preserve the other.

  • Defense News - Will Carter Nomination As SecDef 'Sail Through'?
• Petrochemicals
  Plastics exports in Saudi Arabia valued at $1.49 billion

  Plastics remain the largest category by contribution on the exports side of the Saudi economy valued at SR5.6 billion ($1.49 billion), the National Commercial Bank said in its “Saudi Economic Review” report last month.

• Manama Dialogue
  Tenth Manama Dialogue and Regional Challenges

  High level delegates from about twenty countries will meet in the Bahraini capital Manama on December 5-7. They will convene to debate regional realities of defense and security.

  • BBC News - Bahraini activist Zainab al-Khawaja sentenced over king's photo
• Abu Dhabi Attack
  Westerners in Abu Dhabi Anxious After Jihadist-Linked Murder of Teacher

  Westerners in Abu Dhabi say they are concerned about rising extremism following the killing of an American teacher and the placing of a bomb outside the home of an American doctor in a state that is renowned for its security and tolerance of Western residents.

• Saudi Geology
  Riyadh’s amazing Edge of the World

  According to geologists, the Edge of the World was formed between 135 and 180 million years ago. The plateau slopes at two peaks — by Al-Zulfi to the north and Wadi Al-Dawasir in the south. Geologists also say that about 130 years ago, these valleys were flooded with water and are currently filled with fossils.

  • Blue Abaya - Photos: Guide to the Edge of the World
• Global Oil Markets
  The new economics of oil: Sheikhs vs. Shale

  So the economics of oil have changed. The market will still be subject to political shocks: war in the Middle East or the overdue implosion of Vladimir Putin’s kleptocracy would send the price soaring. But, absent such an event, the oil price should be less vulnerable to shocks or manipulation. Even if the 3m extra b/d that the United States now pumps out is a tiny fraction of the 90m the world consumes, America’s shale is a genuine rival to Saudi Arabia as the world’s marginal producer. That should reduce the volatility not just of the oil price but also of the world economy. Oil and finance have proved themselves the only two industries able to tip the world into recession. At least one of them should in future be a bit more stable.

  • US News - U.S. Oil Reserves Hit 38-Year High
  • Bloomberg - Video: Saudi Arabia Can Afford to Wait Out Oil Market: Yergin
  • Bloomberg - Brent Heads for 5-Year Low as Saudi Discounts Spur Competition
  • Seeking Alpha - Saudi Arabia: Do The Math
  • The Economist - Shale: In a bind
• U.S. Treasury Department
  US removes Saudi from sanctions list after 13 years

  A leading Saudi businessman and philanthropist has been removed by the US Treasury Department from its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.

• Saudi Football
  Angry Saudi soccer clubs pinpoint Gulf labour market contradictions 

  The clubs' complaint mirrors problems across the Gulf with government efforts to encourage preferential employment of nationals. The complaint is particularly stark given that the kingdom unlike smaller Gulf states like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates still boasts a population in which nationals constitute a majority, if only a slim one.

• Anti-ISIS Campaign
  U.S.-led coalition has weakened Islamic State, Kerry says

  "Our commitment will be measured most likely in years but our efforts are already having a significant impact," Kerry said at the start of a first meeting of ministers from a coalition of more than 60 countries that Washington has assembled to destroy Islamic State, which is also known as Daesh.

  • LA Times - Recent Iran airstrikes in Iraq help drive Islamic State from 2 towns
  • The Hill - Lawmakers question Turkey's efforts to stop foreign ISIS fighters
  • Reuters - United States Already Has Ties With Some Potential Syrian Rebel Recruits
  • McClatchy - Anti-ISIS Coalition Seen Behind Group's Decision to Suspend Cellphone Service in Mosul
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