Analysis
Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on Al-Monitor’s world class reporting.
Biden unlikely to turn back in Iraq
Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says Biden knows Iraq "as well or better than just about anyone."
![US Vice President Joe Biden meets with General Lloyd Austin, the commander of United States Forces - Iraq (USF-I), and US ambassador in Iraq James Jeffrey at the US embassy upon the former's arrival at Baghdad on a surprise visit on November 29, 2011, during which he is due to meet top Iraqi officials, as American troops depart Iraq ahead of a year-end deadline. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/11/GettyImages-1228398071.jpg/GettyImages-1228398071.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=UIKNgFQa)
While America counts its votes, Erdogan advances his agenda
Can the next US president manage Erdogan’s ambition?
![GettyImages-518363944.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/11/GettyImages-518363944.jpg/GettyImages-518363944.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=j_KLb363)
New normal takes shape for Israel, Palestinians, UAE
Israelis and Emiratis throw themselves into their new relationship and Palestinians are throwing Gulf visitors out of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
![An Israeli policewoman stands guard at an entrance of the al-Aqsa compound, leading to the Dome of the Rock mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem on October 18, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. - Israel began to ease its month-long coronavirus nationwide lockdown, allowing citizens to venture further than 1km (0.6 miles) away from their home with preschools, daycare centres and places of worship reopening to all, under some restrictions. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUN](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-1229137721.jpg/GettyImages-1229137721.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=61Dz8F7r)
Would Mideast leaders prefer Trump or Biden to deal with Iran?
Whoever wins the election, a new Iran deal would require a regional consensus and some tough diplomacy with Putin.
![GettyImages-1229229656.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-1229229656.jpg/GettyImages-1229229656.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=kxwdSQDO)
Middle East’s chronic woes exacerbate COVID impact, IMF says
Also: Israelis back Trump, Palestinians (kind of) tilt toward Biden.
![GettyImages-1223063243.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-1223063243.jpg/GettyImages-1223063243.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=q7VBR3cN)
For Arab youth, the future is in the Gulf
The most recent Arab Youth Survey shows the United States is gaining ground on Russia and China as perceived "allies."
![GettyImages-520242438.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-520242438.jpg/GettyImages-520242438.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=4qB3DGOB)
Did Erdogan approve Azerbaijan escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh?
The Turkish president is the author of a militarized regional policy that now stretches from the Caucuses to Libya.
![STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - OCTOBER 2: Journalists take pictures and video of a crater left by a bomb that fell outside a fire station on October 2, 2020 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. A decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reignited in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized by most countries as part of Azerbaijan, but controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 ceasefire. Dozens have been reported killed in the recent fighting, in which both countries blame the other](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-1278008033.jpg/GettyImages-1278008033.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=xGWVTm5B)
Why rejoining Iran nuclear deal isn’t so easy, even if Biden wins
A new Iran deal should consider the “gold standard” energy pact by the UAE and include a regional dialogue on the peaceful use of nuclear power.
![US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend a bilateral meeting in Vienna, Austria, May 17, 2016.
/ AFP / POOL / LEONHARD FOEGER (Photo credit should read LEONHARD FOEGER/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/09/GettyImages-531887868.jpg/GettyImages-531887868.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=378W5Bc3)
Israel’s Gulf diplomacy and its discontents
As Israel and its new regional partners begin trade talks, Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and the Israeli left are on the sidelines.
![TOPSHOT - (L-R)US President Donald Trump speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani listen before they participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/09/GettyImages-1228529253.jpg/GettyImages-1228529253.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=DVlxfzS8)
How a second Trump term could shift Russia’s stance on Syria
Bahrain, UAE peace deals compel Palestinian rethink on strategy.
![(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on February 21, 2020 shows
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Keep America Great rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 19, 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony in Jerusalem on January 23, 2020 commemorating the people of Leningrad during the Second World War Nazi siege on the city. - President Donald Trump on february 21, 2020 dismissed reported warnings by US intelligence that Russia is meddling in this year's](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/09/GettyImages-1202252353b.jpg/GettyImages-1202252353b.jpg?h=125a58ae&itok=lgqKN9At)
Pagination
Netanyahu, regional leaders hedge on possible Trump win in November
The Israeli prime minister is under pressure to deliver on a cease-fire during his Washington visit next week; Biden can’t heal Democrat divisions over Israel and the Gaza war.
![JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1230516369.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=-Zxq4qmm)
Lebanon FM warns of 'devastating’ regional war if Israel escalates campaign against Hezbollah
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Lebanon's top diplomat, Abdallah Bou Habib, adds that security in the south ultimately depends on a strong Lebanese army and an agreement on the border – not war.
![BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 15: Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib speaks to the media following talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on December 15, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The two diplomats discussed mutual measures to prevent the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict from expanding to other regions, among other issues. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1857491748.jpg?h=9855f42d&itok=rgoJZYYE)
US, Iran guarantors of shaky deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is not ready to go to the mattresses over the killing of another senior commander on Wednesday, and Iran doesn't want a war while it favors the threat of confrontation as a deterrent.
![A portrait of Musa al-Sadr sits amid the rubble of a destroyed building in the heavily damaged, Hezbollah stronghold town of Aita al Chaab on June 29, 2024 in Aita al Chaab, Lebanon. Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading cross-border fire since the October 7 attacks, with the conflict escalating in May when the group launched a missile-carrying drone against Israel for the first time. The conflict intensified in June when Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli m](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-2159834748.jpg?h=4296c093&itok=iuOsSvRF)
G42-Microsoft partnership in Kenya 'just the beginning,' says UAE trade minister
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi discusses momentum in UAE trade with the US, the benefits of economic diversification and Africa’s priority in UAE trade policy.
![Indonesian President Joko Widodo (L) listens to a speech by United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi (R) during the inauguration of the newly built floating solar power plant on the water that can generate 192 mega watts of peak electricity in cooperation between the Indonesian government and Masdar from the UAE, at Cirata Reservoir, West Java, on November 9, 2023. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP) (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-06/GettyImages-1771551969.jpg?h=1dfc45c8&itok=YsgRPZu4)