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  • A Nuclear Iran: CNN
     

    What do we really know about the Iranian nuclear threat?  Iran says it wants the right to have its peaceful nuclear program formally recognized.  But from the outside, Iran has long given the impression it has something to hide.  And fear that Iran may soon have the capability to build a nuclear weapon, has spurred […]

     
  • Internet in the Middle East Still Short of Its Potential
     

    Last week’s third ArabNet conference for digital entrepreneurs in the MENA region was, by the standard of these things, a modest affair. But nonetheless it showed how the regional digital economy has grown, and how it is poised to take off. As one commentator said: “Jordan for the talent, Lebanon for the creativity, Egypt for […]

     
  • Critical Commercial and Economic Ties: Interview with Jose Fernandez
     

    The 2nd US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum in Atlanta in December brought together a high level delegation of over 200 Saudi officials and business people with over 1000 Americans to explore the $1 trillion-plus commercial openings available in the coming decade in the Kingdom. The response to the Forum – and what it means for American investment and […]

     
  • Car-nage
     

    In his weekly piece for Arab News, Abdulateef Al-Mulhim takes a look at the extraordinary toll exacted on Saudi roads. With well-engineered roads and streets and access to the latest and safest automobiles, he says, Saudi Arabia still leads the world in highway fatalities. He offers a few ideas about how to gain control over […]

     
  • What to Know About the TASI Opening
     

    Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and the Middle East’s biggest economy, is about to complete a gradual process to open its stock market, known as the Tadawul or TASI, directly to international investors for the first time. The initial step toward this action was to give other GCC countries the right to invest […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Can Saudi Arabia become the world’s biggest hydrogen producer?

    The head of the hydrogen project at Neom, Roland Kaeppner, says the new Saudi venture comes at the right time for a world searching for ways to replace fossil fuels. “You can’t decarbonise every industry by just electrifying it,” he said. There remain huge caveats. Hydrogen faces not only big production challenges but is also difficult to store and transport. It remains almost prohibitively expensive. “The real question is cost,” said Robin Mills, chief executive of the Qamar Energy consultancy. “Are customers willing to pay a premium?”

  • Can Saudi Arabia become the world’s biggest hydrogen producer?

    The head of the hydrogen project at Neom, Roland Kaeppner, says the new Saudi venture comes at the right time for a world searching for ways to replace fossil fuels. “You can’t decarbonise every industry by just electrifying it,” he said. There remain huge caveats. Hydrogen faces not only big production challenges but is also difficult to store and transport. It remains almost prohibitively expensive. “The real question is cost,” said Robin Mills, chief executive of the Qamar Energy consultancy. “Are customers willing to pay a premium?”

  • Will Iran’s constitution get a facelift after three decades?

    Prominent moderate conservative politician Mohammad Reza Bahonar has floated the idea of reviving bicameralism and revising the Iranian constitution. His suggestions appear to have supporters, but not everyone believes acting on those ideas is currently feasible. Bahonar’s suggestions come as there appears to be a new attempt by moderates to re-establish a foothold in Iranian politics after having been sidelined by hardliners over the past year.

  • Opinion: Why aren’t investors piling in to build new LNG projects?

    Energy transition risks are holding up investments in additional LNG export plants in the US, despite the current record-high gas prices.

  • Total takeover? French oil major firms up plans for region’s energy

    TotalEnergies is creating a commercial juggernaut in Africa that will see it invest billions of dollars in the next five years. The company with operations in at least 14 African countries is looking to invest over $10 billion in East Africa’s energy sector, promising thousands of jobs and major investment opportunities for local contractors.

  • Is ‘unfreezing’ of Iranian funds in Iraq ‘positive signal’ from Biden?

    A prominent Iranian news agency says funds that have been frozen in Iraq due to US sanctions are now available for food and medicine imports. However, the report has been disputed by a member of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce. The claimed development is seen by some Iranian outlets as a “positive signal” from the Joe Biden administration, as talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal enter the final stretch.

  • Perspective: The Middle East Rush to Bury Hatchets: Is it sustainable?

    The frenzy to reduce tension offers the United States a second chance to broaden its security and stability outreach to address issues that concern broad swaths of Middle Eastern populations and have forced themselves onto the agenda in recent years.

  • Commentary: Arab Shia Communities in Transition: A Peacemaking Opportunity for the International Community?

    The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung held a workshop November 22-23, 2021 on Shia communities in Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

  • Will Sistani intervene to end Iraq’s political deadlock?

    Amid the strong divisions within the ‘Shiite House’, ordinary people are awaiting an explicit position from the Marjaiya. The Najaf-based institution is headed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who continues to struggle with reducing dependence on foreign powers and keeping the country away from traps set by prowlers. Sistani commonly follows up on important developments in Iraq and is briefed on sensitive files through a variety of mediums.

  • Iran’s new president just met with Vladimir Putin in Russia. What to make of it?

    Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on January 19. It was the first meeting by an Iranian president with his Russian counterpart since 2017.