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.
'You don’t solve issues by running away,' says Iraq's KRG PM
Masrour Barzani, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, discusses the dispute with the rival PUK party; relations with the US and Iraq; China; and the KRG’s ambitious economic reform and climate policies.
![Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (L) arrives at the Elysee Presidential Palace to meet with the French president, Paris, France, Feb. 16, 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-03/GettyImages-1247189428.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=siMnEJn0)
China leaps into Saudi-Iran diplomacy as nuclear talks move
Iranian official says next move on prisoner exchange depends on US.
![Saudi-Iran-China](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-03/saudiiranchina.jpeg?h=1d34674f&itok=_HjeYWA3)
IAEA’s visit to Iran could set stage for diplomacy or conflict
If diplomacy falters again, the US and Israel are talking about further military collaboration against Iran, while the Islamic Republic itself sends mixed signals about its intentions in the region.
![Grossi](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-03/GettyImages-1244823820.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=jWc2kAeO)
Iran floats adherence to NPT, dialogue on Ukraine as JCPOA fades
Iranian officials say a nuclear deal is still possible, but US says it’s up to Tehran.
![A man reads the Iranian newspaper Etemad, with the front page title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA ", and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in the capital Tehran on Aug. 16, 2022.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-02/GettyImages-1242542478.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=pwQ5Z0F2)
UAE diplomacy guides response to Syrian, Palestinian crises
UAE steps up on Syria in wake of earthquake; Netanyahu settlement threat is déjà vu for Abu Dhabi.
![US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R) chats with United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) in Sde Boker, Israel on March 28, 2022.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-02/GettyImages-1239575965.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=luIpYWHj)
Earthquake could shake up Turkish election
Democracies face more pressure than dictatorships after natural disasters; Assad is content to continue rule amidst the ruins.
![Erdogan earthquake](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-02/GettyImages-1246888428.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=FQ1ZzIF3)
Netanyahu counts Iran, Sudan as wins following Blinken visit
And Iraq worries about getting caught, again, in US-Israel-Iran crossfire.
![Netanyahu blinken](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-02/GettyImages-1246671383.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=u0mWKeZ6)
Netanyahu more worried about Israel's protests than Palestinians
The Israeli prime minister will receive US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as violence escalates, normalization stalls, and the economy tanks in anticipation of right-wing reforms.
![Israel protest](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-01/GettyImages-1246423481.jpg?h=f8d3de98&itok=CvH7QTCO)
Turkey's Erdogan shows no give on Sweden’s NATO bid
The hope is that the Turkish president will deal on NATO, Sweden and Syria after May 14 elections; Turkey-Syria talks unsettle refugees; Could jihadists make a comeback in Europe?
![Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on Jan. 18, 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-01/GettyImages-1246323574_0.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=bJig_et5)
Middle East states seek to stave off global downturn
World Bank report portends trouble for fragile economies; Saudi Arabia looks to copper; Oman invests in hydrogen; Egypt floats its exchange rate; Iran’s currency crisis; Algeria expects to profit.
![Middle East oil](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-01/GettyImages-1236360201.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=086tV6pV)
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)