Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

An upcoming meeting with the Trump administration could result in Riyadh softening its Qatar blockade, which Biden has expressed concerns about.

The White House’s planned $23 billion arms sale to Abu Dhabi will complicate Russian and Chinese attempts to make further inroads in the wealthy Arab Gulf state.

As PKK militants fight to secure their position in northern Iraq, additional attacks against other Kurdish forces and nearby oil facilities are likely.

The fractured dynamics of the country’s ongoing civil war will remain significant obstacles to a comprehensive political settlement and lasting peace.

To secure its counterterrorism efforts, Washington appears to be shifting away from its maximum isolation strategy toward more limited engagement with Damascus.

Progress on long-delayed elections suggests a new appetite for cooperation between the territories’ political rivals, along with a new role for Ankara, amid warming Israeli-Arab Gulf relations.

Israel would likely try to derail any diplomatic progress between a potential Biden administration and Tehran by escalating its attacks against Iranian forces across the Middle East.

The need to save money amid the pandemic may push the Moroccan government to postpone next year’s ballot, which would raise the risk of political backlash and social unrest.

For the first time, the U.S. has sanctioned Lebonese leaders with only indirect ties to the Iran-backed group, undercutting the potential for political and economic reforms that require Hezbollah's support.