Saudi Arabia

How the Gulf States Will and Won’t Respond to the Iran Agreement

By Richard LeBaron

Gulf states have cautiously greeted the interim nuclear agreement between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the EU and Iran. The Saudi statement on Monday treads lightly—”The government of the kingdom sees that if there was goodwill, this agreement could represent a preliminary step towards a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear program.” In […]

Anxiety in the House of Saud

By Rajan Menon

You’d think that Saudi Arabia‘s ruling monarchy would have a lot to be happy about — and you’d be right, in part. The Saudi Kingdom has, barring some exceptions, been remarkably stable. It was left unscathed by the revolutionary wave that demolished longstanding authoritarian regimes from Tunisia to Egypt. The Saudi political system — being consensus-based and […]

GCC Balks at Move Towards a Union

By Richard LeBaron and Noora AlSindi

In mid-May, leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met in Riyadh to discuss a vaguely-defined Saudi proposal for a “union” of GCC states. The Saudi proposal seems to have been prompted by heightened concerns over Arab Spring aftershocks (particularly in Bahrain) and perceived Iranian ambitions in the region.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s Role in the Regional Efforts to Oust Assad

By Benedetta Berti and Yoel Guzansky

Since the beginning of the protests against the Assad regime in March 2011, the international community’s response to the Syrian crisis has been characterized by disunity. This collective vacuum has boosted the role of regional actors, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who have been extremely active with the support of virtually all GCC countries. 

Saudi Arabia Nuclear Hedging

By Yoel Guzansky

Saudi Arabia’s announcement last week that it plans to build 16 nuclear reactors with a budget of more than $100 billion raises doubts about its nuclear ambitions.

U.S. Challenges and Choices in the Gulf: Saudi Arabia

The September 11th terrorist attacks and their aftermath have not altered Saudi Arabia’s fundamental importance in the international arena nor its importance to the United States. Saudi Arabia remains the source of much of the world’s oil reserves, the site of the holiest places in Islam, and the crossroad of strategic lines of communication between […]