The China-Iran pact is a game changer – Part II

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani received China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Tehran, March 27, 2021 Part II: China positions itself on the right side of history  Part I: China neutralises the US campaign on Muslim Uighur issue  In an exclusive interview with Al-Arabiya last week, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi …

The China-Iran pact is a game changer — Part I

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) exchange documents during the signing ceremony of a 25-year cooperation agreement, Tehran, March 27, 2021. Part I : China neutralises the US campaign on Muslim Uighur issue  When China and Iran, two of the United States’ main adversaries in the contemporary …

Taliban risks losing international legitimacy

A high-powered Taliban delegation led by Mullah Baradar arrived in Tehran for consultations on January 26, 2021  A high-level delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the senior leader of the Taliban and its chief negotiator at the Doha talks, held consultations in Tehran and Moscow this week through January 26-29 amidst growing uncertainty over …

Saudi embrace of Qatar falls short of Gulf unity

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) welcomes Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani upon arrival to attend Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Al-Ula, Jan. 5, 2021. The West Asian region is such a fragmented part of the world that any semblance of reconciliation on any of the criss-crossing fault lines becomes a …

Saudi overtures to Qatar and Turkey bring results

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) welcomes Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Ankara, Turkey, Nov. 26, 2020  A rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is on cards. An announcement can be expected in a matter of days. Kuwait, which had been mediating between Riyadh and Doha hinted on November 27 that a breakthrough …

Biden casts a spell on Arabia’s shifting sands

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman (L), called Turkish President Recep Erdoğan (R) on Nov. 20, 2020 to discuss reset of relations. The controversial meeting between Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (commonly known as MbS) in Neom, the mega-city under development on the Red Sea coast, on November 22 drew world …