Ibrahim Al Marashi

Hazaras and the gaping hole of human security in Afghanistan

Only now have Western nations woken up to the continued threat to Afghan minorities and women.

The year that linked the fates of Afghanistan and the Middle East

The year 1979 is a turning point in the history of the region, as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Islamic revolution in Iran and ‘Seige of Mecca’ laid the groundwork for the rise and victory of the Taliban over forty years later.

How armed groups can exploit the climate crisis

In the Middle East and North Africa, non-state actors weaponising the effects of climate change is already a reality, not a future scenario.

Iraq’s stability depends on Iran and the US re-entering the nuclear deal

Reviving the nuclear deal would give Iran less of an incentive to target US positions in Iraq and support Baghdad’s sovereignty.

A tale of two hunchbacks: Notre Dame of Paris and her Iraqi Sister

The four-year anniversary of the al-Nuri’s mosque’s minaret’s destruction is a time to lament the loss of an Iraqi and global symbol of cultural heritage.

Nuclear nationalism: An unintended consequence of Israel’s bombings

Israel’s bombing of an Iraqi nuclear site forty years ago didn’t end Saddam’s program — it accelerated it. This pattern is repeating with Iran today.

After George Floyd: Reflecting on vulnerable communities and pandemics

The one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder requires us to reflect on the different ways communities experienced Covid-19 and how they intersect with histories of racism, discrimination and stereotypes.

The victors after the Hamas-Israel ceasefire

Iran and Hamas gained from the two-week escalation in violence, with Israeli-Palestinian peace losing.

Atlanta attacks: Anti-Asian violence, and the myth of the 'Yellow Race'

The massacre of women of Asian heritage during the pandemic can be linked to our current “xenodemic”.

Up in arms: Vaccines, weapons deals and Russia's Gulf diplomacy

Russia's shuttle diplomacy around the Middle East projects is an attempt to project power as the US looks to re-calibrate its approach in the region.

Will Biden’s Iraq policy signal the end of US unilateralism?

The Biden administration acknowledges that any delay in reviving the Iran deal will lead to further instability in Iraq.

Thirty years later, the legacy of Operation Desert Storm endures

The role of airpower in the 1991 Gulf War had deep-reaching consequences for US strategy and shaped its military approach in the Middle East. Will that decades-long policy change under Biden?