Giorgio Cafiero is the CEO of Gulf State Analytics (@GulfStateAnalyt), a Washington, DC-based geopolitical risk consultancy.
The US killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani serves as a reminder to the GCC that when push comes to shove, they are all in the same boat.
The Iranian response to the assassination of Soleimani may have been for domestic consumption, but Trump's erratic decision-making may still force Iran's hand.
The entry of African mercenaries risks further destabilising the situation in Libya and presents risks for the countries these fighters will return back to.
Expect the Gulf crisis to continue well into 2020, even if Saudi-Qatar relations thaw.
The warlord Khalifa Haftar's cunning exploitation of geopolitical rivalries has handed Russia outsized influence over the conflict.
A number of policy setbacks have pushed Saudi Arabia to revisit its blockade of Qatar raising the spectre of a potential rapprochement.
Iran stands to lose the most in the near future, but Saudi Arabia won't be far behind as protesters across the Arab world demand an end to foreign interference in internal affairs.
A window for rapprochement in the Gulf could be in the offing as the US tones down its rhetoric on Iran pushing Saudi Arabia and the UAE to take a step back.
Donald Trump has one less hawk in his administration, that much is certain. What is unclear is whether it means a less combative foreign policy with countries like Iran or Venezuela.
The Saudis might be considering Japan as a venue to go public with the world's most profitable company, and reap the benefits of the lower political and regulatory liabilities in the country.
Bahrain leads the charge in befriending Israel as Gulf nations prioritise the Iranian 'threat' and shove Palestine off the agenda.
Why are Muslim countries in the Gulf silent over the crackdown and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir?
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