Silence does the talking While trimming my nails the other day, my manicurist Reem lifted her head and asked me in that quiet, matter-of-fact way that Lebanese resignation often takes: “Do you ...

Frustrated by long entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration in 2011 announced a strategic “rebalance” toward the Asia-Pacific, where China was emerging as Washington’s ...

The release of the new U.S. National Security Strategy, alongside this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), has revived a familiar question in Washington and across the Middle East: ...

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, carried multiple files and messages during his visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, renewing debate over whether Beijing is pursuing new ...

One of the most persistent gaps in the U.S. debate on Syria appears to be the assumption that the new leadership in Damascus exercises real control over the forces it claims to command. In an ...

Welcome back to MBN Agenda. This new offering from the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, the premier Arab-first news and commentary platform on the region, is a window into what’s driving the ...

China was swift to express indignation at a secret visit that was made in recent weeks by Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, François Wu, to Israel, as reported by Reuters, citing three ...

Tuesday December 9th, 2025 Welcome back to MBN Agenda — your window into how Washington shapes the Middle East, and how the Middle East shapes Washington. This is a new offering from the Middle ...

Despite the rapid developments unfolding behind its borders with Libya, Sudan, and the Gaza Strip, Egypt has continued to focus primarily on its maritime frontiers. For that reason, the issue of ...

It didn’t take long after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi invited his Lebanese counterpart, Yousef Raji, to visit Tehran for Raji to decline the offer. Raji, who said current circumstances ...

The fate of one of the largest oil fields in Iraq—and in the world—remains unresolved, nearly two months after the Russian company Lukoil announced it could no longer continue operating the field, ...

The United States has made a dramatic shift in how it handles the war in Sudan: President Donald Trump is now following the file personally. He is “not delegating it,” but overseeing it himself, ...