Qaboos bin Sa’id Al Said, who ruled the Sultanate of Oman, a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf since 1970, died in January after a long illness and was succeeded by his cousin, Sultan Haythim bin Tariq Al Said| The Soufan Center
Last year began with broad optimism for the course of U.S. relations with Iran as multilateral talks to restore full U.S. and Iranian adherence to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), appeared to make progress| The Soufan Center
As a consequence of early November national elections, and after five elections in less than four years, Israel appears set to have the first stable government in several years. The elections have produced an unlikely comeback for Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been Prime Minister of Israel| The Soufan Center
During January, the Saudi-led Arab coalition supporting the Republic of Yemen Government against the Iran-backed Houthis achieved significant and unexpected battlefield breakthroughs that might shift the calculus of the various stakeholders in the conflict| The Soufan Center
Three and a half years after Saudi Arabia launched a blockade against Qatar, Kuwait’s foreign minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah announced that Riyadh would reopen its land, air, and sea borders with Doha| The Soufan Center
On March 10, high-ranking Iranian and Saudi national security officials signed an agreement in Beijing to restore full diplomatic relations. They will return their respective ambassadors within two months, as well as resume abiding by long-dormant but preexisting agreements on security| The Soufan Center
At the White House on September 15, 2020, the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain signed the “Abraham Accords”, a joint statement pledging the normalization of relations between the signing parties| The Soufan Center