Chinese President Xi Jinping with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Tehran, January 23, 2016 - After decades of distance, China is moving closer to the region’s sectarian feuds — and its vital oil reserves At the start of 2016, prospects … [Read more...] about China’s New Grand Strategy for the Middle East*
Oil market
Feeding Iran’s Terrorist Agenda
Left: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif waving [goodbye] to the Peace Dove. (cartoon by Keyvan Varessi, Iranian daily Iranian daily Ghanoon) - The lifting of the sanctions on Iran is significant not only because … [Read more...] about Feeding Iran’s Terrorist Agenda
Obama’s Millennial Problems
President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address to Congress, along with calling Ukraine a Russian "client state", which infuriated the Ukrainians, referred to conflicts in the Middle East "...that date back millennia" It's not clear what … [Read more...] about Obama’s Millennial Problems
The Paris Attack: Arabic and Iranian Propaganda
Left: This caricature was published in the London based Qatari owned (!) al-Arabi-al-Jadeed. Here are a few more caricatures published in Arabic and Iranian newspapers after the jihadists attacks in Paris on Friday: Saudi … [Read more...] about The Paris Attack: Arabic and Iranian Propaganda
Obama’s ISIS Legacy*
Presidential candidate and billionaire businessman Donald Trump has the right idea regarding how to stop ISIS. "I would knock out the source of their wealth, the primary source of their wealth, which is oil," he told MSNBC. A year into it, the … [Read more...] about Obama’s ISIS Legacy*
The Mystery of Obama’s Iran*
Even the most dogged defenders of Pres. Barack Obama’s “deal” with Iran will admit that the U.S. had to make concessions to achieve it. The extent of those concessions and their implications are certainly more than debatable. True enough, in any … [Read more...] about The Mystery of Obama’s Iran*
The Iran Deal Through an (Oil) Glass Darkly
The profit margins Big Oil requires are no longer to be made in Saudi Arabia but in Iran and Iraq. Once the US concludes a nuclear deal with Iran, Big Oil will see to it that it sticks, and Washington can turn its attention to the true cause of … [Read more...] about The Iran Deal Through an (Oil) Glass Darkly
Can Saudi Arabia Form a United Sunni Front?
Left: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (r) with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Riyadh, March 2, 2015; picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency; AFP Photo/SPA/HO The attempt to establish a Sunni pact against the background of the … [Read more...] about Can Saudi Arabia Form a United Sunni Front?
Weekly Briefing – March 22-27, 2015
Credit: Office of the Supreme Leader Iran: Why? - Sol Sanders - Why is one of the world’s poorest countries [40% living in poverty, halfway down on list of countries in per capita GDP] building capital-intensive nuclear power facilities? Iran has … [Read more...] about Weekly Briefing – March 22-27, 2015
Iran: Why?
Left: Obama Sends Iran a Nowruz Message, Calls Nuclear Talks a 'Historic Opportunity' Why is one of the world’s poorest countries [40% living in poverty, halfway down on list of countries in per capita GDP] building capital-intensive nuclear power … [Read more...] about Iran: Why?