Netanyahu's Move to Right Leaves Opening for Olmert at Center Netanyahu may lead the largest party following Likud's merger with Yisrael Beitenu, but not necessarily the most popular. Alon Pinkas writes that Ehud Olmert could lead a centrist bloc that poses a real challenge to the new alliance. Israel
Turkey's Birthday Revelers Dispersed With Tear Gas A peaceful celebration in Turkey was marred by barricades and tear gas, reports Tulin Davoglu. While the many non-governmental organizations that applied to gather before parliament were denied permits, the event in no way provoked security forces to violence, she writes. Turkey
Khamenei Will Not Compromise Meir Javedanfar recently argued in Al-Monitor that sanctions will force Iran to accede to Western demands on its nuclear program. Reza Sanati responds that instead of compromise, the Western negotiating tack is likely to exacerbate the conflict. Iran
US Loosens Sanctions On Medicine Sales to Iran The Office of Foreign Assets Control has quietly revised some key aspects of the Iranian sanctions, allowing US companies to sell certain medical supplies to Iran. Samuel Cutler and Erich Ferrari write that while these steps could alleviate some humanitarian issues, in no way should this move be interpreted as a general easing of sanctions. Iran
Israeli Parties' Merger Thwarts US Push to Halt Settlements The merger of two right-wing Israeli political parties under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu means a commitment to expanding settlement in Palestinian land, Geoffrey Aronson writes, and marks the failure of President Barack Obama's administration to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Palestine
UAE Political Islamists Are Not 'Defenders of Human Rights' The UAE’s political Islamists have been referred to in the West as human rights activists. Sultan Al Qassemi has followed their rhetoric as many Western writers cannot — in Arabic. He explores the social-media posts of one such character, whose writing he describes as xenophobic, exclusionary and repugnant. United Arab Emirates
Why Khamenei Will Compromise It's highly likely that Iran's supreme leader will have to declare a new set of compromises at the nuclear talks, partly due to Khamenei's failure to make his nuclear policies a nationalist issue, writes Meir Javedanfar. Fortunately, the same challenges that may force a nuclear compromise are also likely to deter a mad dash for the bomb. Iran
Grand Ayatollahs Chide Khamenei Over Iran's Faltering Economy Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has yet to acknowledge the extent of Iran’s economic troubles, which could undermine the stability of the country and its theocratic regime, Shahir Shahidsaless reports. Iran
Palestinians Stage Elections, Young Voters Shrug Despite a Hamas boycott and low voter turnout, many saw Palestine's municipal elections as a step toward re-establishing political legitimacy. But among the young electorate, Lena Odgaard found few who believed their vote mattered, having lost faith in elections after seeing 2006's winning party, Hamas, blocked from assuming power. Palestine
The Foreign Policy Debate: An Al-Monitor Roundup The topic for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's final debate before the election was foreign policy, but the majority of the night was dedicated to the Middle East. From Obama's hat tip to Bush's Iran policy to Romney's concern about the Muslim Brotherhood, read original takes from Trita Parsi, Sultan Al-Qassemi and Alon Pinkas. Palestine
Who's the Bigger Friend of Israel — And Do Voters Really Care? President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney scrambled to outdo each other in avowing support for Israel during Monday's debate, but Shibley Telhami writes that it's not at all clear how much American voters care. Israel
Who Needs an Iraqi Oil Law? Iraq has become OPEC’s number-two oil exporter, but lacks a national oil law to help unify markets, reduce investor risks and promote future energy development. Denise Natali writes that although Baghdad and Erbil have much to gain without a law, putting negotiations off only further embed Iraq's energy sector in territorial and political issues. Iraq
Romney Takes Issue With Muslim Brotherhood After the latest US presidential debate, Sultan Al Qassemi takes note of Mitt Romney's subtle linking of Egypt’s Brotherhood with "al-Qaeda-type individuals." Nevertheless, he writes, there are good reasons why this election does not rank among the top issues in Middle East. Originals
Turkey Held Hostage in Syria No uprising in the Arab world has been as sectarian as the Syrian crisis, writes Tulin Daloglu, and Turkey's efforts to help been tainted by its own sectarian issues. Many question Turkish inaction to save the lives of kidnapped Shiite pilgrims, and its prime minister has accused an opposition leader of solidarity with Assad because of their common sectarian background. Syria
Candidates Swap Platitudes, Not Policies On the merits of this debate, and focusing exclusively on the portions devoted to the Middle East, it is safe to conclude that Mitt Romney would make a good vice president in a Barack Obama administration, writes Alon Pinkas. In fact, when they did differ it was the dovish, Wilsonian Romney who criticized the realist, Kissingeresque Obama. Palestine
Obama Recalls Bush on Iran In some ways, the debate added more confusion about the positions of both candidates on Iran, writes Trita Parsi. Romney vowed to pursue a different path without providing any details, and Obama appeared to shift the goalpost to suggest a return to Bush's zero-enrichment objective. The plight of the Iranian people was noteably absent. Iran
