Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

A new Iran means an Iran different from the one we have known for four decades. Perhaps a modern civilian system could emerge, or the current system itself but with different policies, moving toward openness, including toward the West, ending its status as a “state of war” and engaging in political…

Major defeats are often born of major miscalculations. The 1967 war between Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Israel; Sharon’s invasion of Beirut and the expulsion of Fatah (PLO) in 1982; Saddam Hussein’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990 despite the massive military buildup against him. The…

Our region is strewn with long-buried landmines, any one of which could spark unintended consequences. This is not meant to refer to the Saudi-Emirati dispute in southern Yemen, despite it being one of today’s heated issues that could still be resolved through direct talks. Beyond these landmines,…

Ending the nuclear program and stopping external activity could spare Iran foreign intervention that enables internal change by exploiting widespread domestic unrest. The Iranian regime is facing an existential crisis for the first time since the founder of the Islamic Republic returned to Tehran…

The renewed activity of al-Qaeda–affiliated groups in Syria brings us back to reexamining the events that first brought al-Qaeda into Syria. Yes, it is al-Qaeda itself! As an organization that was born and took root in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda was destroyed by the Americans in response to the…

Venezuela’s two “former” leaders, the late Chávez and his successor Maduro, somehow resemble figures from the Middle East, Saddam, Khomeini, and Gaddafi. They were famous for bombastic speeches, populist slogans, and zero achievements. Who can forget Chávez’s words from the UN podium about US…

A year has passed since the fall of the Assad regime. The change has been immense, and its consequences are still unfolding. As the first anniversary approaches, key questions remain unresolved, the most prominent being: Why did Bashar al-Assad and his regime become subservient to Iran so early in…

Since their emergence, modern Arab nation-states have found themselves in constant tension with transnational ideological movements that challenge their authority and pull loyalties beyond national borders. Chief among these groups is the Muslim Brotherhood, a cross-border organization whose ideas…

The assumption that the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit to Washington was mainly about dealing with regional shifts is an exaggerated one. What is reasonable to say is that it was the most significant visit in decades, because it elevated the relationship between the two countries to a new level. It was…

It has become well known that US President Donald Trump enjoys a distinctive relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two leaders are now meeting again in Washington. Between Trump’s two trips to Riyadh, the first in 2017 and the second just six months ago, the world has…