<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

Assessments

Tunisia's President Kais Saied (top-R) waits to take his oath of office during his swearing-in ceremony before the National Assembly in Tunis on Oct. 21, 2024. 

Economics

Military & Security

Politics

Despite tensions with union leaders, Tunisia's controversial finance bill will introduce reforms that attract foreign investment and increase production in key sectors.

Strikes Loom as Tunisia's Government Undermines Labor Union

United States

Israeli air defence systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv amid a fresh barrage of Iranian rockets on June 16, 2025.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

If effective, the laser air defense system will significantly reduce the cost of intercepting short-range aerial threats and bolster Israel's multilayered protection against aerial attacks.


The Role of Iron Beam in Israel's Evolving Defense Architecture

Jordanian police close the entrance of a Muslim Brotherhood headquarters on April 23, 2025, in Amman, Jordan.

While the White House has initiated a review process to label the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization, it is unlikely to result in a comprehensive ban on the group.

U.S. Unlikely To Broadly Designate Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Organization

Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard 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 the northern Gaza Strip, on Dec. 1, 2025.

The shift toward a low-intensity conflict in the Gaza Strip will likely enable Israel to keep pressuring Hamas to disarm without triggering significant backlash or a resumption of Houthi maritime attacks.

Israel Moves Toward a De Facto Partition of Gaza

Snapshots

Somalia

Yemenis stand under a billboard depicting the seizure of an Israeli-linked ship in the sea by Yemen's Houthi-run coast guards during a demonstration staged in solidarity with the people of Gaza and against U.S. President Donald Trump's deal to end the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 3, 2025, in Sanaa, Yemen. 

While the partnership provides tactical benefits, structural limitations on Houthi resources and al Shabaab's financial independence suggest the relationship will remain opportunistic.

The Outlook for Cooperation Between Yemen's Houthis and Somalia's al Shabaab

A photograph taken from the Israeli side of the border with southern Lebanon shows U.N. peacekeepers clearing landmines on Nov. 19, 2025. 

Rare direct talks between the neighboring adversaries will probably continue despite Hezbollah's objections, but Israel's likely refusal to offer meaningful concessions will sustain a high risk of renewed conflict in the coming months.

Lebanon-Israel Talks Are Unlikely To Pave the Way for Peace

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. 

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

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. 

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

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." 

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

Australia

China

Japan

Singapore

South Korea

Environment, Science & Technology

The U.S. Trump administration plans to sign the Pax Silica Declaration with Australia, Japan, Israel, Singapore and South Korea on Dec. 12, forming a coalition designed to counter China's control of critical minerals and its growing clout in the artificial intelligence sector, Politico reported the same day.

Global: U.S., Five Others To Sign Pax Silica Declaration in a Bid To Counter China in CRMs, AI

Taiwan

Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu traveled to Israel on an unpublicized foreign trip earlier in December, according to Reuters sources on Dec. 11, though the sources declined to state with whom he met or what they discussed.

Taiwan, Israel: Taipei Likely Seeks Israeli Defense Support, Could Stir Chinese Retaliation 

The U.S. House voted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025-26 to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, sending it on to the Senate, where its passage looks likely, and on to President Donald Trump, who will sign it, Al Jazeera reported on Dec. 11.

U.S., Syria: Washington To Lift Caesar Sanctions on Syria

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani signed an agreement to build a 785 kilometer (488 mile) high-speed rail line between Riyadh and Doha over the next six years, al Jazeera reported on Dec. 8.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar: Governments Ink Deal To Link Capitals via High-Speed Rail

A senior Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group was ready to discuss "freezing or storing or laying down" weapons in order to advance the fragile ceasefire with Israel, and he also suggested a multi-year truce and said Hamas must maintain its "right to resist, AP reported on Dec. 7.

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Hamas Official Floats Freezing or Storing Weapons

The Tunisian General Labor Union, or UGTT, called for a nationwide general strike on Jan. 21, citing the need for social dialogue, the right to collective bargaining and opposition to the public and private sector wage increases in the draft 2026 finance bill, all against the backdrop of President Kais Saied's ongoing crackdown on dissent, Reuters reported Dec. 5.

Tunisia: Powerful Labor Union Calls for General Strike Amid Rising Tensions With Government

Israel's Cabinet unanimously voted to pass the 2026 budget, which aims to maintain elevated defense spending while reducing the government's debt-to-GDP ratio, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 5.

Israel: Wartime Budget Passes Cabinet, Now on to Knesset

The UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, led a rapid offensive against forces of the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government, capturing most of oil-rich Hadhramaut province, The National UAE reported on Dec. 4.

Yemen: UAE-Backed Forces Capture Most of Hadhramaut Province

Middle East and North Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Global: U.S., Five Others To Sign Pax Silica Declaration in a Bid To Counter China in CRMs, AI

Taiwan, Israel: Taipei Likely Seeks Israeli Defense Support, Could Stir Chinese Retaliation

U.S., Syria: Washington To Lift Caesar Sanctions on Syria

Saudi Arabia, Qatar: Governments Ink Deal To Link Capitals via High-Speed Rail

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Hamas Official Floats Freezing or Storing Weapons

Tunisia: Powerful Labor Union Calls for General Strike Amid Rising Tensions With Government

Israel: Wartime Budget Passes Cabinet, Now on to Knesset

Yemen: UAE-Backed Forces Capture Most of Hadhramaut Province

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