Ashish Kumar Sen

Mixed messages from US President Donald J. Trump’s administration and an apparent belief in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that they have the ear of the White House have exacerbated the crisis between the United States’ Arab Gulf partners, according to Richard LeBaron, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Trump Must Reassure Israel, Gulf Partners Over Iran, says Retired Gen. David H. Petraeus This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. As the next president of the United States, Donald Trump should reassure both Arab Gulf partners and Israel of a US commitment to address the threat posed by Iran, said retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, a former director of the CIA who serves on the Atlantic Council’s board of directors.

Building on the Iran Nuclear Deal The next president of the United States must build on the opportunity provided by the nuclear deal to normalize ties with Iran, said Ellen Laipson, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, in Washington on October 19.

US Disengagement from Middle East ‘Raises a Question About American Values’ On the eve of the US-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Riyadh on April 21, Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center in Abu Dhabi, discusses key challenges in the United States’ relationship with its Arab Gulf partners, the cost of US disengagement, and the Iranian threat.

Road to Riyadh: Bridging the Gulf  As US President Barack Obama prepares to attend a summit with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in Riyadh on April 21, the Atlantic Council’s Barry Pavel has some words of advice: The United States must not be neutral in its relationships with its Arab Gulf partners and Iran. US President Barack Obama (center) hosted the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland on May 14, 2015. From left are United Arab Emirates’ Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan; Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa; Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said; the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah; the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tameem bin Hamad Al Thani; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef; and GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Is the United States a Less Reliable Ally?   The United States’ friends and allies in the Middle East see Washington as a less reliable partner and are “talking fairly openly about alternatives” such as Russia and China, retired Gen. James L. Jones, Jr., a former US National Security Advisor, said on Dec. 8.

Bridging the Gulf  Many of the United States’ Gulf allies are anxious about Iran’s activities in part because of the high levels of mistrust in their own relationships with Washington, the Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab said July 7.  

With an Eye on Iran, Gulf Countries Seek US ‘Security Guarantee’  The United Arab Emirates and its five partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—worried about Iran’s hegemonic ambitions in their neighborhood—want a US “security guarantee,” Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE’s Ambassador in Washington, said May 7 at the Atlantic Council.