On 2 February 2021, the Middle East Directions Programme hosted Giovanni Romani, Sanam Vakil, Tytti Erästö, and Mahsa Rouhi as part of its Regional Security Initiative. Moderated by Luigi Narbone and Abdolrasool Divsallar, the event (see more details here) explored the possibility of military de-escalation measures in reducing tension between the US and Iran. This […]
While some of the discussions and proposals are somewhat couched in ambiguity, the language adopted in discussion of the Gaza Strip could not be more direct. Described from the contents page as ‘The Problem of Gaza’, the document has a linear narrative: until Hamas, PIJ and ‘other terrorist entities’ are dealt with, nothing is going […]
The Aramco IPO, possibly the largest IPO listing of a company ever on stock exchanges, is sailing into uncharted waters. After almost four years of hinting at a US$2 trillion valuation and listings on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and London Stock Exchange (LSE), geopolitics, regional conflict and an unstable global oil market are […]
This morning, Israel carried out a targeted assassination of the senior military commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Shajiaya, in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip. Bahaa Abu al-Ata, 42 and his wife Asma Mohammed, 39 were killed as a bomb struck their home in the early hours of this morning. Syrian state media reported […]
Did Khalifa Haftar genuinely believe that he would easily take control of Tripoli, and that he and his troops would be welcomed as liberators of the city? Did political leaders in Europe and the Middle East decide to take him at his word, hoping that a quick demonstration of military force would eventually put […]
Welcome to our new channel! The MEDirections blog is a space where our Research Community can have the opportunity to express opinions, give comments on news, events and developments, tell stories and generally share their points of view in a sharp and non-academic format. Whereas the Medirections website http://middleeastdirections.eu/ is the Programme’s official interface, our blog […]
