Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Sparked by Hamas's attacks on October 7, 2023, the war with Iran has been raging for over two years. With Iran's regional proxies now significantly diminished, a fundamental question arises: what is the ultimate goal of this war? There appears to be broad American–Israeli agreement on waging…

Writers of political fiction have managed to spread the idea of “Talmudic Greater Israel,” taking advantage of the current weakening of Iranian power, which is spreading fear and frustration among Iran’s allies. In my view, we are witnessing an important historical moment: a conflict between two…

Iraq, like Lebanon, was dragged into supporting Iran’s war effort against its will. Unlike the Lebanese government that condemned and denounced Hezbollah’s actions, however, the government of Iraq neither prevented nor condemned the actions of the factions operating in the country, which targeted…

The fighting has not stopped since negotiations in Islamabad came to a halt. President Donald Trump’s dangerous decision to impose a blockade on Iran’s maritime trade has disrupted the entire landscape as Iran threatens to target Gulf ports. In the battlefield, Israeli forces are advancing in…

After the failure of negotiations in Islamabad, the next move is Washington's to make. It now faces a different set of challenges. The first is deciphering Iranian code: not every "yes" is an affirmation, and not every "no" is a definitive rejection. Any time Iran replies in the negative, it…

Has Iran ceased to be the Iran it had been the day before yesterday? My assessment might be premature. Negotiations have yet to begin and American aircraft carriers have not returned to their bases; and this is a two-week ceasefire. Even so, Iran has probably fundamentally changed for two main…

Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz was a predictable possibility, present in every potential war scenario with it. There was a precedent for its closure in the 1980s when Iran planted mines, targeted ships, and threatened maritime traffic. Known as the "Tanker War," Iran used missiles and speedboats…

In theory, at least, the Arab majority is expected to take a clear stance against Iran over its aggression toward eight Arab countries – six in the Gulf – in addition to Iraq and Jordan. But reality is more complex and far less cohesive. We see some voices and movements not merely remaining silent…

The premise suggests that in its war against Iran, the United States is trying to entangle Gulf states alongside it, only to later abandon them. The question is: Could President Donald Trump walk away from the war with Iran, leave the region, and abandon Gulf countries to face Tehran on their own? …

Merchants of rumors and conspiracy theorists, much like merchants of war, feed off people’s fears and anxieties. With the first shot fired in the conflict, a wave of theories emerged. The most prominent being that the war is nothing more than a US strategic plan against China, aimed at…