Ashish Kumar Sen

In April, Norwegian security agents informed Iyad el-Baghdadi that he was the target of a threat emanating from Saudi Arabia. El-Baghdadi believes the threat came from the government of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the crown prince’s righthand man Saud al-Qahtani. El-Baghdadi, a prominent Arab activist, is a critic of the Saudi government, much like his late friend, Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. He took the threat seriously.

OPEC’s secretary general and its former president on January 13 defended the group’s decision to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day from criticism that the cut is insufficient to address the slowdown in the market.

The US Treasury Department on November 15 slapped sanctions on seventeen Saudi officials in response to the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on corruption that has, so far, resulted in the detention of more than two hundred people , including almost a dozen princes. The most significant targets are former crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, whose assets have been frozen ; Prince Alwaleed bin Talal , one of the world’s richest men and a critic of US President Donald J. Trump ; and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah , the chief of the National Guard—the only security service not under the crown prince’s control—who was removed from his post. The detainees are not exactly roughing it out during their detention in Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton. 

Saudi Arabia and the United States are on a Collision Course with Iran  Donald J. Trump and Mohammed bin Salman have a similar outlook when it comes to Iran. Both see the Islamic Republic as a threat that needs to be contained. What then does the elevation of Mohammed bin Salman, commonly known as MBS, to the role of crown prince of Saudi Arabia mean for the Sunni kingdom’s relationship with Shi’ite Iran?

Give (Arab) Peace (Initiative) a Chance   In the absence of a credible Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, Gulf Arab states and Israel will find it hard to elevate their security cooperation to deal with the threats posed by Iran and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, according to the Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab.

Saudi-Iran Rivalry Keeps Oil Prices Down  The regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran—the two main producers in a global oil cartel—has become a significant factor behind the sharp decline in oil prices that has also kept rates at historic lows.

Saudi Offer to Deploy Troops to Syria ‘Turns the Tables’ on the United States   Saudi Arabia’s offer to deploy ground troops to fight the Islamic State in Syria is seen as putting pressure on the Obama administration—which has been urging its Arab Gulf partners to ramp up their efforts—to itself take on a greater military role in Syria.

Saudi Arabia Must Find Cure for ‘Wahhabi Virus,’ Says Iraqi Lawmaker  Mowaffak al Rubaie is a former National Security Advisor of Iraq who currently serves as a member of parliament in Baghdad. In this interview with the New Atlanticist’s Ashish Kumar Sen, Rubaie discusses the war on the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), also known as ISIL and Daesh; the danger posed by Wahhabism; the implications for Iraq of the Iran nuclear deal; and much more.

Al-Qaeda Affiliate Gains from Yemen Crisis Al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula (AQAP) has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the crisis in Yemen where its traditional enemies—Saudi Arabia and Zaydi Shia Houthi rebels—are preoccupied in a war against each other.  

Strange Bedfellows: Saudi Arabia, Israel Oppose Iran Nuclear Deal for Different Reasons  Saudi Arabia and Israel find themselves in the same camp as opponents of a nuclear deal with Iran, but the Sunni kingdom and Jewish state have very different reasons for their opposition. Israelis are concerned mainly with a nuclear-armed Iran, while the Saudis worry more about Iran’s growing regional influence, analysts said March 16 at the Atlantic Council.

A New King: Salman Will Keep Saudi Arabia on Course  Saudi Arabia’s new king, Salman bin Abdulaziz, is unlikely to depart sharply from the policies of his half-brother and predecessor, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who died on Friday, according to Atlantic Council analyst Richard LeBaron.

New Saudi King Has A Lot on His Plate  Saudi Arabia’s new king will have his hands full dealing with multiple challenges, both at home and abroad, says Atlantic Council analyst Bilal Y. Saab.

Proxy war between Iran, Saudi Arabia playing out in Syria Iranian support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad is producing a violent backlash against Tehran’s interests in the Middle East and fueling a proxy war with Saudi Arabia that threatens to further destabilize the region.

A Saudi Arabian court has ruled that a convicted man's spinal cord should be severed so he is paralyzed as part of the kingdom's Islamic-law-oriented retribution for similar injuries he is said to have inflicted upon another man in a fight.

WASHINGTON - On a September morning just over three years ago, as hijackers piloted airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, few would have guessed the catastrophic consequences for Saudi Arabia.