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3 weeks ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Marco Carnelos
It is hard to find a historic or contemporary precedent for the battle raging between Donald Trump, the president of the United States, and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. There may be a couple of examples that come close, but nothing that quite captures the current moment. For instance, in 2017, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rounded up his profligate cousins and businessmen at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton for a royal shakedown. They got into line quickly.
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3 weeks ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Marco Carnelos |Peter Oborne |Taqadum al-Khatib
The Egyptian news website Mada Masr recently reported that Saudi Arabia was pushing to establish a US military base on the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, reigniting one of the most dangerous files in Egypt’s abandonment of its sovereignty. While the Egyptian regime issued unofficial denials via its media mouthpieces, the government has not formally responded.
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1 month ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Marco Carnelos |Azad Essa
It was an afternoon of several cruel ironies. With the genocide in Gaza reaching barely fathomable levels of brutality over the past several days, including a UN warning about the imminent deaths of up to 14,000 infants, US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of conducting a “white genocide”. Trump, not known for his deference, flat out asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to explain the killings of white farmers in the country.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Peter Oborne |John Rees |Marco Carnelos
“Make the West great again”: This was the headline slogan uttered by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Meloni’s trip to the US was highly anticipated at a tense moment in transatlantic relations, fuelled by Trump’s unorthodox stance on the war in Ukraine and his decision to target the world - allies included - with hefty tariffs.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Yasmine El-Sabawi |Marco Carnelos
US President Donald Trump's private appeal to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - while publicly threatening all-out war - may now be paying off. For the first time since a brief attempt in 2021 under former president Joe Biden, the US and Iran will be engaging in supposedly "indirect" talks that could quickly become "direct", depending on whose narrative you accept.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Marco Carnelos
A senior US official is expected to tell Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday that he needs to get stricter on Hezbollah to unlock desperately needed financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, current and former US and Arab officials told Middle East Eye. US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus is expected to arrive in Beirut on Friday for meetings with Aoun and other Lebanese officials.
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Feb 21, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Marco Carnelos
One of US President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Europe, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban, said in February that the US could bring an end to the war in Ukraine in less than six months. The US’s whirlwind bid to resume relations with Russia and end the war has left Europe reeling. The Arab Gulf will be closely watching what that could mean for energy prices and the oil trade.
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Feb 20, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Marco Carnelos |Jonathan Steele
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to visit Turkey next week as part of his regional tour, sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. Lavrov is expected to be in Ankara on 24-25 February, according to one of the sources. Earlier this week, Lavrov informed the Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, that there would be high-level talks with the Syrian government next week, which could indicate a visit by the Russian foreign minister to Syria as well.
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Feb 20, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Jonathan Steele |Marco Carnelos
The lengthy phone call last week between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and their ensuing discussions on ending the Ukraine war, have understandably dominated global news in recent days. European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, are in a state of shock, especially after US Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference.
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Feb 18, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald |Marco Carnelos
Russia has said the US better understands its position on Ukraine following contentious talks held in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has been seeking to score a diplomatic win and boost relations with Washington by hosting the talks, which have been condemned by the Ukrainians for not including them in discussions. Riyadh is also hosting a major Arab summit on the future of Gaza this week.
