Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
All of this regional activity is happening with the U.S. quietly coordinating in the background, encouraging some moves while discouraging or ignoring others (such as the overtures to Assad), but overall engaging in much more diplomacy across the region ahead of the nuclear talks with Iran that resumed this week after a five-month hiatus.
Rising pressure against Lebanon from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states may well be tied to Hezbollah’s role in Yemen.
There is no question that Washington’s position in the broader Middle East was dented by the fiasco in Afghanistan. Ultimately, however, U.S. assets in the region are still unrivaled: the United States’ political and economic influence, hard power, soft power, embrace of multilateral diplomacy, and leadership of a rules-based global order continue to give it the upper hand over all its rivals.
Saudi Arabia’s refusal to deal with Lebanon represents a political opportunity cost in its rivalry with Iran.
Regional and international actors are accumulating cards to engage in a new Middle Eastern power game.
Mustapha al-Kadhimi’s promotion of regional dialogue allows him to address Iraq’s many vulnerabilities.
The ongoing Saudi-Emirati spat over oil output reflects a wider change in regional power dynamics.
A recent dispute at an OPEC+ meeting, has exposed the growing strains between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Border crossings and cross-border connections have become essential components in the growing regional contest for influence in Iraq.
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