MenuAs the fighting in the Persian Gulf expands, competition between major region-adjacent powers, including Turkey and Pakistan, is plain to see. While Iran is attacking the U.S., Israel, Kuwait, the UAE, and other Gulf states, the Sunni bloc led by Turkey and Pakistan, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar as its members, is bobbing and weaving.
Tag Archives: Middle East
Hormuz Conflict Damages Persian Gulf Havens
The war with Iran and the recurrent closures of the Strait of Hormuz have rattled financial markets across the globe, but the greatest immediate costs are being borne by the Arab Gulf states, long safe havens of domestic and international investors. Missile strikes and drone attacks have damaged critical facilities, disrupted aviation, and undermined the
Beyond Oil: Disruption In Hormuz Spells Trouble For Global Markets
This past Saturday, July 4th, saw two major events on the world stage. In America, jubilant crowds celebrated 250 years of independence, replete with fireworks, air shows, sizzling heat, and congratulations from around the globe, including the EU, UK, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and many others. Read the full article
The Iran Deal Drives Oil Prices Down, But Uncertainty Looms
The announcement that Washington and Tehran have agreed to end hostilities and restore commercial access to the Strait of Hormuz has had a massive impact on markets. Crude futures dropped sharply. Read the full article here.
Iranian Aggression Masks Economic Difficulties
Since June 7, Iran and its proxy, the Houthi rebels (with their rallying cry, “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam”), have launched more than 30 ballistic missiles at Israel, prompting the Israelis to retaliate with airstrikes, and setting the stage for renewed hostilities and escalating
A Tale Of Two Oil Shocks: Why 2026 Feels Big, But Isn’t As Big As 1973
As the world watches the next act in the U.S.-Iran drama with bated breath, the headlines write themselves: the worst oil disruption in history, a fifth of global supply at risk, and Brent crude close to $110. The International Energy Agency has warned that the ongoing Iran War represents an unprecedented supply shock. Yet before declaring this
Iran War Will Drive Gulf Petrodollar Capital Flight To…Hollywood
Investors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates who accumulated trillions from decades of oil sales have long been deploying sovereign wealth funds into Western assets. Their money has gone into technology, sports, infrastructure, real estate, and entertainment. That strategy was built on a simple premise: petrodollar revenues generated at home could be
The Energy Problems Behind Turkey’s Incursions In Northern Syria
On December 8, 2025, Turkish troops entered northern Syria from Afrin, Ras al-Ain, and the northern Aleppo countryside a year after their chosen candidate, the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ended the Syrian civil war, ousting Ba’athist dictator Bashar al-Assad and installing HTS founder and leader Ahmad al-Sharaa as Syria’s interim president. Until recently, HTS was
A Year After Assad’s Fall, Russia Preserves Syrian Energy Influence
A year after former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Ba’athist dictatorship collapsed under the blows of Ahmed El-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Organization for the Liberation of the Levant) Islamist militia, the Kremlin, the patron of the deposed regime has not disappeared. Despite expectations, Russia has not withdrawn from Syria, but instead has retrenched itself “under new