Natural gas will play a critical role in driving economic expansion and diversification for the Gulf Arab states in coming decades. Yet, despite the enormous resources of natural gas, almost all countries in the region, with the exception of Qatar, will struggle to meet growing supply needs. Straining supplies further, gas is being prioritized for use in electricity generation in an effort to divert more valuable crude oil to export markets to maximize revenue, a critical priority in the major producing countries.
On June 24, Saudi women will be allowed to operate their own cars, ending the ban on women driving and effecting a momentous change in the conservative kingdom. Yet many of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent women activists who worked for generations to lift the ban are unlikely to be among them. On May 19, the official Saudi Press Agency acknowledged the arrest of seven campaigners, five women and two men who supported them, on a list of serious charges centered on collusion with foreign entities to undermine the security of the state. The arrests are ongoing with at least 10 activists now reported detained.
Although the May 12 Iraqi parliamentary election was the country’s fifth since 2005, it was remarkably different from the previous ones in many ways. For the first time since the beginning of the democratic process in Iraq following the removal of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in 2003, Iraqi electoral lists, by and large, did not use sectarian, tribal, or regional concerns for political advantage. According to the campaign rhetoric of all lists, even the previously sectarian ones, the election was about building a modern democratic Iraq that’s strong, civil, free of corruption, and fair to all its citizens.
في خلال أسبوع واحد لوحت الديبلوماسية الأمريكية بالسيف وهددت بشكل لا لبس فيه دولتين تعتبرهما مارقتين ولهما طموحات نووية: إيران وكوريا الشمالية. وفي حال رفضهما الانصياع للشروط والمطالب والاملاءات فإن واشنطن تؤكد على استعدادها وقدرتها على استخدام القوة ضدهما. صباح الأثنين الماضي، ألقى وزير الخارجية مايك بومبيو أول خطاب رئيسي له بعد شهر من تسلمه المنصب حول الاستراتيجية الأمريكية تجاه إيران، بعد قرار الرئيس ترامب الانسحاب من الاتفاق النووي الدولي معها. وخاب أمل اولئك الذين توقعوا الكشف عن خطة استراتيجية، لأن خطاب بومبيو كان بمثابة إعلان حرب اقتصادية ضد إيران، رافقه تحريض واضح للشعب الإيراني الذي يعاني من ضائقة مالية عميقة، للانتفاض ضد النظام الإسلامي اطلع على المزيد
In addition to original content, AGSIW.org in Arabic is regularly updated with new Arabic translations of AGSIW's analysis. Recent translations include:
The only thing that’s clear from Iraq’s May 12 election is who the voters rejected: Iran and the U.S. These two outside powers have dominated their affairs since 2003, and this is the latest sign that a growing number of Iraqis are eager to reassert their identity and independence. Otherwise, things remain complicated.
With the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, crucial elections in Iraq and Lebanon, and intensifying hostilities between Iran and Israel over Syria, the Middle East’s strategic landscape is being rapidly redrawn. On May 23, AGSIW hosted a panel discussion exploring the implications of these and other major developments for the Gulf Arab countries and the rest of the region.
Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Young discussed Saudi economic cities for Financial Times. For Al-Monitor, Young commented on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech calling for a tougher U.S. posture toward Iran.
