Experts in the News

"Much of the animosity that generated the blockade in 2017 originated in Abu Dhabi more than in Riyadh, and ... the rift can only fully end when the leadership in the UAE is ready to move on," said Middle East Fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen of the ongoing feud between Qatar and fellow GCC members.

The double blows of Covid-19 and an oil price crash have thrown Saudi Arabia's social and economic reforms into doubt. “I can’t imagine Hajj taking place under the current circumstances, and plans for high-end tourism will be derailed by Covid-19, probably for a year or longer,” said Middle East fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen. Last year, some 2.6 million pilgrims went on Hajj, with religious tourism generating $12 billion.

“If it is reaching into the family, then it becomes an urgent issue,” said Middle East fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen of the Saudi royal family members believed to have contracted the coronavirus.

Oman's new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, will endeavor to stamp his own imprint on a country that has become synonymous with Qaboos, wrote fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.

Oman is seeking to de-escalate Israeli-Palestinian tensions and move toward a form of normalized relations with Israel — but not at the expense of its support for an independent Palestinian state, wrote fellow Kristian Coates-Ulrichsen of Oman's plans to open an embassy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.