Washington must accept the limits of diplomacy with Iran A new JCPOA-style agreement risks misreading the region’s trajectory: it would not stabilize the Middle East but re-empower Iran at the precise moment when its regional project is weakening. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour May 20, 2025
Trump’s plan vs. Qatari power If Washington is serious about forging a solution to Gaza, then it must address contradictions in its relationship with Doha. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour Feb. 17, 2025
A child’s simple faith If this were happening elsewhere—and the identities of the perpetrators and victims were different—the international community would have been condemning the use of child soldiers. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour Dec. 14, 2021
Symbolic warfare in the Middle East Israelis keep pointing to the fact that events in Jerusalem, Gaza and the Israeli interior were not connected. Although this is empirically true, symbolic activities are by definition transcendent and not bound by empirical reality. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour June 7, 2021
Arab reactions to Gaza Arab media is still saturated with anti-Semitism and hatred towards Israel; yet for the first time, there are new voices, both official and non-official, taking a strong anti-Hamas position. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour May 19, 2021
The old, embittered leadership of Mahmoud Abbas His decision to effectively cancel elections, while saving himself from a risky gamble, aggravates a volatile situation, angering Palestinians and Hamas alike. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour May 6, 2021
The Iranian trap In the Middle East, regimes have the nasty habit of tapping into holy causes for legitimacy, yet those holy causes become new religions that no one can control. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour and Sarah N. Stern April 28, 2021
Iran holds Lebanon hostage as its economy collapses With each passing day, the situation seems to become more apparent: Lebanon is completely under the mercy of Iran. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour March 22, 2021
Saudi’s chief diplomat delivers judgment on the Palestinian leadership In a decisive interview, Prince Bandar bin Sultan makes it all too clear: The days of Saudi unconditional support are over. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour Oct. 26, 2020
