SUSTG.com / Research

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

Recent stories from sustg

MUST-READS

  • U.S. energy secretary to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE next week, officials say

    U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to work on “climate co-operation” and other issues, two Biden administration officials told Reuters on Friday. The visit will run from Tuesday through Thursday, with Granholm visiting the UAE first, one of the officials said. It will be her first trip to the region as secretary.

    “The visit is a continuation of long-standing engagement between the U.S. and this region,” the officials said.

  • Opinion: A U.S. Deal Could Make Saudi Arabia the Next Egypt

    Will they, or won’t they? That is the question that the Middle East-watching world has been asking for the past few weeks. Will the United States and Saudi Arabia announce the big defense pact-plus deal that officials in both countries have been working on since at least mid-2023?

  • China vs. U.S.: Who’s Winning Hearts and Minds?

    The U.S. is currently beating China in the competition for leadership approval in much of the world. But, as a new Gallup report shows, this approval can depend a great deal on who is in power. Based on relative net approval scores, the U.S. enjoyed an advantage in 81 out of 133 countries that Gallup surveyed in 2023, while China had an advantage in 52. The United States' net approval advantage was largest in Kosovo at +154 points (+78 U.S. net approval and -76 Chinese net approval). China’s advantage was largest in Russia at -132 points (-82 U.S. net approval and +50 Chinese net approval). In any country, net approval of the U.S. minus net approval of China results in a relative net approval score between 200 and -200. A score of 200 means everyone approves of U.S. leadership and disapproves of Chinese leadership, while a score of -200 indicates the opposite. A score of 0 suggests parity, where the U.S. and China share the same net approval score.

  • U.S. Shuffles Military Assets in Middle East After Gulf Pushback

    The U.A.E. informed the U.S. in February that it would no longer permit American warplanes and drones based at Al Dhafra air base in Abu Dhabi to carry out strikes in Yemen and Iraq without notifying Emirati officials ahead of time. That has prompted U.S. commanders to send the additional aircraft to Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the small Persian Gulf monarchy that hasn’t imposed similar restrictions, U.S. officials said.

  • Perspective: Unfairly Maligned? The Cost of Mediation on Qatar-U.S. Relations

    Moreover, many of Qatar’s past actions toward Gaza that voices within the United States and Israel now denounce were implemented at the behest of officials in Washington and Tel Aviv. A look back at Qatari mediation in Gaza over the past decade could remind U.S. policymakers of Qatari maneuverability in the region when crises erupt.

  • U.S. tells Qatar to evict Hamas if it obstructs Israeli hostage deal

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered the message to Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in April, according to the official, who like others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations.

  • U.S. Shuffles Military Assets in Middle East After Gulf Pushback

    The U.A.E. informed the U.S. in February that it would no longer permit American warplanes and drones based at Al Dhafra air base in Abu Dhabi to carry out strikes in Yemen and Iraq without notifying Emirati officials ahead of time. That has prompted U.S. commanders to send the additional aircraft to Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the small Persian Gulf monarchy that hasn’t imposed similar restrictions, U.S. officials said.

  • U.S. urges Hamas to take ceasefire deal as Blinken lands in Israel

    The White House urged Hamas and its interlocutors to accept a “fresh” proposal that would in its first phase free three dozen vulnerable hostages during a 40 day Gaza ceasefire, and said the United States would serve as one of the guarantors of the deal. “This is a…really good proposal and Hamas ought to jump at it,” National Security Council spokesperson John  Kirby told reporters on a zoom today (April 30). “And time is of the essence.” “Our focus right now is on getting a ceasefire and hostages home,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Amman, Jordan, today before flying to Israel. “That is the most urgent thing, and it’s also I think what is achievable.”

  • U.S. and 17 Other Nations Call on Hamas to Release Hostages

    President Biden and the leaders of 17 other nations called on Hamas on Thursday to release all of the hostages seized during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, an effort to raise international pressure on the group’s leader in Gaza to agree to a U.S.-brokered deal.

  • Perspective: U.S. Fixation on Nuclear Deal Let Iran Loose on the Middle East

    Early in the process, there was a clear imbalance between Washington’s perception and Tehran’s. Washington thought that engaging Iran on the nuclear file would curb the latter’s destabilizing potential in the region, and this assumption motivated the signing of an initial nuclear agreement with Iran in 2013. But Iran celebrated the agreement as a political victory and otherwise carried on. Despite this, the Obama administration pressed on in pursuit of a wider nuclear deal, and in 2015 managed to secure the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Left Menu Icon
Logo Header Menu