Mali | Moscow’s Gamble Unravels
The News: On April 25, 2026, an alliance of the Azawad Liberation Front and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin launched the largest coordinated attack in Mali’s conflict history since 2012, simultaneously…
The Corridors Race — Gulf States and Ankara Bypass Hormuz
News: In their most strategically significant response since the war began, major Gulf states — led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE — alongside Turkey as a pivotal regional power,…
UAE Withdraws from OPEC and OPEC+
The News: The United Arab Emirates announced through its state news agency WAM its formal withdrawal from OPEC and the OPEC+ alliance, effective May 1, 2026. The announcement came on…
A Unified International Position: Condemning Israel’s Diplomatic Representation in “Somaliland”
The News The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Federal Republic of Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria, Palestine, Turkey, and Indonesia issued a joint statement strongly condemning Israel’s announcement…
United States & Iran — Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
The Islamabad Talks and Their CollapseWhat Happened? Weekend talks in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran ended without a deal. A source close to the negotiations said the two sides came…
The Bahrain Amazon Strike: The War for the Cloud
What Happened In April 2026, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missile and drone strikes targeting Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.Iranian officials…
Bahrain as a Test Case for Multi-Domain Warfare in the Gulf
Since the outbreak of the Iran war in February 2026, Bahrain has shifted from a rear-area logistics hub to a frontline laboratory for modern multi-domain conflict. While the island remains…
Gulf Economies Under Pressure from the Iran War: The Strait of Hormuz and the Limits of Fiscal Resilience
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states entered the Iran-related conflict from a stronger financial position than many observers expected. Prior to the escalation, International Monetary Fund projections indicated that most…
NORTH AFRICA & THE RED SEA: REDRAWING THE MAP OF INFLUENCE
What happened? Geopolitical competition over North Africa and the Red Sea is intensifying as traditional maritime corridors face disruption, with multiple regional and international powers racing to consolidate positions at…
OIL MARKETS & THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ: WHEN THE WORLD’S ECONOMIC ARTERY BECOMES A HOSTAGE
What happened? Serious threats now hover over the Strait of Hormuz amid a partial freeze in tanker movement, while OPEC+ has approved only a limited production increase to absorb the…