In late June, MBS conducted a regional tour in an attempt to burnish his leadership credentials in advance of U.S. President Biden’s July 16 visit to the Kingdom. MBS visited two key allies, Egypt and Jordan, both of which seek financial support and additional investment from the Kingdom. King Abdullah II| The Soufan Center
During July 13-16, President Joseph Biden visited longstanding U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia on a controversial trip that included meetings with Palestinian leaders on the West Bank and a summit with the six Gulf states and three other Arab leaders| The Soufan Center
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven principalities (emirates) celebrating its 50th anniversary, experienced no unrest during the “Arab Spring” uprisings of 2011. Yet, de-facto UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of the federal capital| The Soufan Center
In discussions with European and other world leaders on February 18-19, President Biden and his foreign policy team formally welcomed the start of a diplomatic process to rejoin the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal that the Trump administration exited in May 2018| The Soufan Center
Israeli media have indirectly confirmed that Israel was responsible for an April 11 explosion that disabled the power supply to Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz| The Soufan Center
A vote in Israel’s Knesset legislature on Sunday, June 13, ushered in a new coalition government and put an end to the twelve-year reign of longtime Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu as the country’s prime minister| The Soufan Center
On July 2, Lebanese Hezbollah – an avowed opponent of Israel – flew three Iran-made unarmed drones toward the Karish offshore gas field, located in disputed waters between Israel and Lebanon. Israeli defense officials claimed that one of the drones was shot down by an Israeli Air Force F-16| The Soufan Center