Advertisement
Tom Hussain
Tom Hussain is an Islamabad-based journalist who has spent his 35-year career covering South Asia and the Middle East.
Tom Hussain is an Islamabad-based journalist who has spent his 35-year career covering South Asia and the Middle East.
The closure of the Middle East’s important straits – Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb – is forcing Gulf and Asian nations to explore other options.
As Gulf gas plants go offline, missing fertiliser shipments today could mean empty shelves and record food prices by autumn.
From Turkey and the Caucasus to South Asia, analysts warn the war could ignite new flashpoints along regional fault lines.
Islamabad has to navigate a tricky regional environment and manage the domestic blowback of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Advertisement
The UAE, Qatar and others had a plan for staying out of a US-Iran war. It relied on the assumption that Iran would leave them out of it too.
Experts see short-term stability, but warn that deeper structural strains could emerge once the immediate shock subsides.
With positions entrenched, mediation efforts by regional powers are unlikely to deliver a swift breakthrough, observers say.
The Soviet Union severed Central Asia’s ancient trade routes to the Indian subcontinent. The region’s modern-day leaders want them back.
Observers say the unresolved question of Hamas’ disarmament leaves the fragile truce vulnerable to collapse.
Tehran is dangling access to its vast oil, gas and mineral reserves, but analysts warn that even this may fail to ‘move the needle’ in talks.
With non-oil trade nearly doubling, analysts say the UAE has secured a first-mover advantage that leaves regional rivals trailing behind.
Both sides appear amenable to a deal limiting some of Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities after last week’s diplomatic re-establishment.
The attacks in recent days in the restive province caused the deaths of more than 250 civilians, security personnel and insurgents.
A plunge in construction deals and the postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games have cast doubts on Riyadh’s Vision 2030.
Analysts evaluate the difficult options of a US air strike, killing of Iran’s top leaders, covert operations and counter-intelligence.
The Gulf neighbours have turned from friends to foes, fighting proxy wars across the region and forcing global powers to pick a side.
Iran’s neighbours are worried that the US’ increasingly erratic behaviour may pose a risk to regional power balance and trade, analysts say.
The jets, co-produced with China, proved their worth during the India-Pakistan tensions, when they destroyed an S-400 air defence system.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are urging against military action, even as the US president teases that ‘help is on its way’.
Weakened by conflict with Israel and a plummeting currency, analysts say the regime faces a choice between radical reform or collapse.
A ‘new order’ is emerging as Abu Dhabi-backed separatist allies clash with pro-Riyadh governments in the region.
With more countries increasingly turning to Israel for their air defence systems, they cannot afford to isolate the Middle East power.
A leading counterterrorism expert warns that ‘agentic AI’ and political point-scoring are fuelling a toxic symbiosis between extremists.
Analysts say New Delhi faces an ‘uncomfortable truth’ as Washington and Beijing find rare common ground on stability in Pakistan.
Washington is lifting sanctions and has rebuked Israel for its attacks, as the US throws its weight behind Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration.
Israel’s ultimatum to Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah by New Year’s Eve is more about political pressure than an invasion plan, analysts say.
A constitutional overhaul that neuters the courts and empowers the generals is seen by many as a naked display of elite self-preservation.
Prolonged proxy warfare could create space for terrorist groups such as Isis-K to regenerate and plot overseas attacks, analysts warn.
The deal swaps F-35 jets for ‘guardrails’ on Chinese tech in the Gulf, analysts say – with Israel assured its military edge is safe.
