MUST-READS

• Prospect of Russia-US deal raises alarm in Iran’s pro-reform camp

  In Iran, pro-reform and moderate media are expressing deep concern about the Saudi-brokered talks between Russia and the US. Many fear that Iran could become a bargaining chip in a potential deal between Moscow and Washington, with Tehran’s interests sidelined in favor of broader geopolitical agreements.

• Chess: Carlsen wins again as he qualifies for the $1.5m Saudi Esports World Cup

  Magnus Carlsen’s dominance of online chess has continued this week as the world No 1 is in pole position for the concluding stages of the Chessable Masters, the first leg of the annual Champions Tour which the Norwegian has won every year since it was launched in 2020. For 2025, the tour is also a qualifier for the Esports World Cup at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in July-August, where the chess prize fund will be $1.5m.

• Trump hails Saudi Arabia at investment event in Miami

  This was the first time a US president has spoken at the Miami event. Elon Musk, who co-heads Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency, was also there. As part of an increasingly high-profile relationship with the United States under President Trump, earlier this week Saudi Arabia hosted talks between the US and Russian foreign ministers aimed at paving the way for a resolution to the Ukraine war. In late January, during the first phone call Trump held with a foreign leader after returning to the White House, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, pledged $600 billion of trade and investment in the US over Trump’s four-year term.

• GCC aims for $188bln tourism income in 2030

  Gulf oil producers seeking to diversify their sources of income away from unpredictable crude exports have set a target to achieve nearly $188 billion in tourism revenues in 2030, a Gulf official has said.  Tourists who visited the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent a record high of nearly $110 billion in 2023, said Abdullah Al Rubai, Head of the GCC’s Human and Environmental Affairs Sector. Nearly 68.1 million tourists visited the six members in 2023 and almost 27 percent of them were GCC citizens, he told Qatar’s Alsharq newspaper this week. “The number of tourists who visited the GCC in 2023 accounted for nearly 52.9 percent of the 128.7 million targeted in 2030,” Al-Rubai said.“They spent a total $110 billion during that year…the figure accounts for nearly 58.7 percent of the $188 billion targeted in 2030.”

• Middle East Airlines Are Set to Revive an Aircraft Buying Spree

  After largely sitting out last year’s flurry of aircraft orders, some of the biggest airlines in the Middle East are now preparing to replenish their fleets, with hundreds of planned purchases set to cement the region as key growth driver for Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. Among the carriers set to add planes is Flydubai, which is looking to purchase at least 200 narrowbody jets plus 100 options, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Neighboring Etihad Airways is meanwhile in talks for as many as 40 widebody aircraft, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Joining the fray is Qatar Airways, which is closing in an order for about 230 twin-aisle aircraft in coming months, while Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, is in talks for about a dozen widebody jets, the people said.

• Despite regional truces, shadow of confrontation with Israel remains over Iraqi ‘resistance’

  The Gaza war has over the past year expanded to include Israeli attacks on Iranian and Syrian territory, and on Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon. In recent months, this has raised significant concerns that a potential wider conflict could extend to Iraq—particularly since the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, an umbrella entity aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, has claimed numerous strikes on Israel. Iraq’s political elite has been divided on how to respond to such threats, especially following Israel’s strike on military sites in Iran only weeks after the attack in the Golan Heights. While some in the administration of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ Al-Sudani adopted a hawkish position, expressing a readiness to confront Israel directly in the event of an assault, reports suggest that a tenuous consensus was reached to limit Iraq’s exposure to the fray. That consensus seemingly remains in place.

• Trump-Putin meeting not imminent, as first US-Russia talks on Ukraine finish in Riyadh

  Negotiations Tuesday between Russia and the United States led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bilateral talks lasted about 4.5 hours and, according to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's top aide Yuri Ushakov, the negotiations "went well." However, a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is unlikely to take place next week, as "intensive work" is needed first, according to the aide. The U.S. State Department called the meeting an "important step forward" as Lavrov and Rubio agreed to form high-level negotiating teams to discuss a settlement to the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.”

• Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wins points for hosting the Russia-US summit on Ukraine

  Crown Prince Mohammed now finds himself at the center of the Trump administration’s outreach to Russia, a country Saudi Arabia carefully maintained ties to during the war through the OPEC+ oil cartel. And with Trump suggesting his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — something Moscow hopes can bring it in from the cold of Western nations — will take place in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed is likely to remain a top player. In the Saudi-owned, London-published newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, journalist Mishari al-Dhaidi described Tuesday’s U.S.-Russia summit as “restoring dialogue between the two poles of the world.” He called it “a major step on the international political chess arena, revealing the status of Saudi Arabia and its positive influence for the benefit of the people all the people.”

• Saudi prince proving crucial to Trump efforts to end Ukraine, Gaza wars

  Top U.S. and Russian officials wrapped up their meetings Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a pathway to end the war in Ukraine, days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to convene a summit with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss an Arab response to U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to take over Gaza. The two separate talks reflect the growing role of the prince in Trump's efforts to fulfill his campaign promise to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The Saudi talks signaled a major détente between Washington and Moscow and an abrupt end of U.S. policy under former President Joe Biden to isolate Russia and support Ukraine "for as long as it takes."

• US-Russia hold talks in Riyadh without Ukraine

  Top United States and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, February 18, for talks on resetting their fractured relations, the first such discussions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both sides downplayed expectations of a breakthrough in this first high-level meeting between the countries since US President Donald Trump took office. Still, the very fact the encounter is taking place has triggered concern in Ukraine and Europe following the US' recent overtures towards the Kremlin. At Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, the talks began without visible handshakes, and no statements were made. A stern-faced US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat across from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff by his side. Lavrov was accompanied by senior Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban also attended.

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