<p>The Middle East and North Africa is the world&#39;s crossroads. It encompasses the Arabian Peninsula, the mountains of Iran, the plains of Turkey, the deserts of the Levant, the lands north of the Sahara and all coasts in between. The story of the region, as is so often the case of places stuck between foreign players, is the story of trade, exchange and conflict. The traditional powers of the region are Turkey and Iran &mdash; Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the current Arab powers &mdash; and their competition for influence over the region&#39;s weaker states makes the Middle East and North Africa an arena of violence and instability.</p>

The Middle East and North Africa encompasses the Arabian Peninsula, the mountains of Iran, the plains of Turkey, the deserts of the Levant, the lands north of the Sahara and all coasts in between.

Middle East and North Africa

Algeria

Bahrain

Egypt

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Morocco

Oman

Palestinian Territories

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Tunisia

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Western Sahara

Yemen

The Syrian Civil War

The Yemen Civil War

The Libyan Civil War

The Fight Against the Islamic State

The Saudi Survival Strategy

The Kurdish Struggle

Iran's Arc of Influence

Israel's Survival Strategy

The Difficulties of North African Reform

Egypt's Uphill Battle

The Battle for Mosul

Columns

On Geopolitics

Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian and Red Cross workers search for the bodies of the last two remaining hostages from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Dec. 1, 2025. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Military & Security

In this phase of the conflict, Israel and Hamas aim to break one another's political will not through widespread violence but through attrition and exhaustion.

Hamas and Israel Evolve the Gaza Conflict

Snapshots

Iraqi riot police walk past a screen displaying a portrait of incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during celebrations by his supporters following the announcement of preliminary election results in Baghdad on Nov. 12, 2025. 

Politics

The Nov. 11 elections produced another fragmented legislature where Iranian-backed parties still have significant influence, portending contentious government formation talks that could impede policymaking and trigger armed clashes.

Iraq Braces for Another Turbulent Government Formation Process

Workers clean the rubble from the site of a Nov. 23 Israeli airstrike targeting a residential building in the southern Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut. Israel will likely opportunistically escalate airstrikes against Hezbollah and Hamas to further weaken the militant groups and push them toward disarmament without ending shaky ceasefires.

Miscalculation or an opportunity for Israel to significantly set back Hezbollah would, however, increase the likelihood of a return to major fighting. 

Despite More Intense Israeli Strikes, Hezbollah and Hamas Ceasefires Will Likely Hold

Assessments

United States

Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa delivers a speech in Damascus on July 3, 2025, during the unveiling of the "New Visual Identity of the Syrian Arab Republic." 

Economics

The transitional government's decision will boost reconstruction and counter-terrorism efforts, but it will also risk alienating internal hard-liners and could eventually fuel an Islamic State resurgence if Syria's economic recovery stalls.

The Implications of Syria Joining the U.S.-Led Fight Against the Islamic State

A man rides past a roundabout adorned with Moroccan national flags in Laayoune, the main city of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, on Nov. 7, 2025.

Although Morocco's sovereignty plan is gaining momentum, the unresolved conflict will continue to complicate the region's development and fuel sporadic clashes.

U.N. Security Council Resolution Bolsters Morocco's Claims to Disputed Western Sahara

Media

Indonesia

Podcasts

What is the outlook for Indonesia-Israel normalization, and what would that process look like?

Essential Geopolitics: Indonesia's Interest in Israel-Gaza

Excavation crews work amid rubble in Hamad City, west of Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Oct. 26, 2025. 

The extended timeline for reconstruction ensures dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza will likely persist for years, fueling future radicalization and significant population displacement.

Gaza Reconstruction Likely To Take Years and Fuel Palestinian Emigration

Chile

Venezuela

Cambodia

Thailand

India

Pakistan

People watch the USS Gravely, a Navy warship, departing the Port of Spain on Oct. 30, 2025. The U.S. warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 26, 2025, for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela, as Washington ratcheted up pressure on drug traffickers and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Saudi Meeting, Military Escalation in the Caribbean

A 3D logo of Vision 2030 from the obverse side of 200 Saudi Riyal banknote. Facing ballooning costs and questionable viability, Saudi Arabia is scaling back giga-projects like Neom, signaling a new market-driven discipline that nonetheless leaves the state as the primary economic driver.

Facing ballooning costs and questionable viability, Saudi Arabia is scaling back giga-projects like Neom, signaling a new market-driven discipline that nonetheless leaves the state as the primary economic driver.

The Mixed Record of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030

Yemen's Houthi fighters man machine guns mounted on trucks as they participate in a weaponized protest staged against the United States and Israel on Nov. 6, 2025 in Sanaa, Yemen. 

Energy

Global Trade

Israel is expected to soon launch another offensive against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, which will risk reigniting the civil war and exposing Gulf countries and Red Sea shipping to retaliatory attacks.

What a Renewed Israel-Houthi Conflict Would Mean for Yemen and Gulf Security

Israel's President Issac Herzog made his first statement on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a presidential pardon in his six-year corruption trial, saying that he would handle it "in the best possible way" without committing to what such an approach would mean, the BBC reported Dec. 1.

Israel: President Addresses Netanyahu Pardon Issue

A senior official with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, said the group will not take any additional steps toward disarmament and disbandment so long as its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, remains imprisoned, France 24 reported Nov. 30. The PKK has also conditioned further progress in the peace process on constitutional recognition of Kurds in Turkey.

Turkey: PKK Conditions Peace Process Progress on Leader's Release, Kurdish Constitutional Recognition

Israel will fully deploy the Iron Beam laser air defense systems on Dec. 30, the Jerusalem Post reported Dec. 1.

Israel: Iron Beam Laser Air Defense System To Be Deployed By Year's End

Social Issues

Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to open two new alcohol stores for non-Muslims in 2026, including one in Dhahran to serve foreign staff at an Aramco oil facility and one in the port city of Jeddah to serve foreign diplomats, Reuters reported Nov. 24, citing anonymous sources. 

Saudi Arabia: Alcohol Stores for Non-Muslims To Open in Dhahran, Jeddah

Cyprus

Lebanon and Cyprus agreed to a final maritime demarcation agreement, nearly two decades after an initial deal determined maritime zones in 2007, Reuters reported Nov. 26.

Lebanon, Cyprus: Maritime Demarcation Agreement Reached

The United States is reportedly planning to build semi-permanent residential compounds in the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip, called "Alternative Safe Communities," that could each house around 20,000-25,000 Palestinians and include schools and hospitals, the New York Times reported Nov. 25.

Palestinian Territories: U.S. Planning To Build Temporary Housing in Israeli-Held Portion of Gaza 

The three main political powers based in western Libya, including Government of National Unity Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, announced the formation of the High Authority of Presidencies designed to strengthen their coordination, especially in negotiations on the national stage with eastern Libyan officials, Al-Wasat reported on Nov. 20. 

Libya: Western Libyan Political Leaders Create Coordination Body

Iran is terminating its September agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency that allowed for limited monitoring of nuclear facilities after the IAEA's board passed a resolution calling for Iran to report details about its enriched uranium, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 20, citing Iran's foreign minister. 

Iran: Tehran Terminates IAEA Inspection Agreement After IAEA Vote Against Enriched Uranium

U.S.-Iran Relations

Middle East and North Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Israel: President Addresses Netanyahu Pardon Issue

Turkey: PKK Conditions Peace Process Progress on Leader's Release, Kurdish Constitutional Recognition

Israel: Iron Beam Laser Air Defense System To Be Deployed By Year's End

Saudi Arabia: Alcohol Stores for Non-Muslims To Open in Dhahran, Jeddah

Lebanon, Cyprus: Maritime Demarcation Agreement Reached

Palestinian Territories: U.S. Planning To Build Temporary Housing in Israeli-Held Portion of Gaza

Libya: Western Libyan Political Leaders Create Coordination Body

Iran: Tehran Terminates IAEA Inspection Agreement After IAEA Vote Against Enriched Uranium

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