Christiano Ronaldo signed a 2.5-year contract with the Saudi team with Al Nassr, estimated to be worth more than 200 million euros. He made his debut in January. Hussein Malla/AP

Is Saudi Arabia using ‘sportswashing’ to simply hide its human rights abuses – or is there a bigger strategy at play?

Prince Mohammad bin Salman is trying to rebrand the kingdom in the model of Qatar and the UAE – two states with human rights issues that have become part of the global order.
This week’s attack on Saudi oil facilities appears to be the latest effort by Iran to escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf to push back on the US ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions campaign. Pavel Golovkin/EPA

How likely is conflict between the US and Iran?

Iran’s goal is to sow discord and inflict pain on energy markets, while avoiding crossing a threshold that prompts retaliation from the US. This is a fine line to walk at the best of times.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (centre) is at the centre of the changes in the Saudi royal family’s approach to governing. Stringer/Reuters

Princes, power and purges: the Saudi royal family consolidates its rule

The latest arrests of princes, ministers and military officials in Saudi Arabia might be in the name of anti-corruption but it also serves to bolster the Saudi royal family’s power.
Donald Trump’s justification for decertifying the Iran nuclear deal stems from his view that Iran is violating the deal’s spirit. Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Why Trump’s decertification of the Iran nuclear deal may prove a costly mistake

Aside from vague threats of violence and suggestions he could ‘renegotiate’ the Iran nuclear agreement, Donald Trump has provided little in the way of coherent or viable policy options.
Spain plays a relatively inconsequential role in the fight against Islamic State. Reuters/Sergio Perez

Striking in al‑Ándalus: why Islamic State attacked Spain

The location and targeting of Islamic State’s latest attack, on the Spanish city of Barcelona, deviates from the group’s previous efforts.
Military strikes against a Syrian airforce base mark Donald Trump’s first big foreign policy test as president. Reuters/Carlos Barria

With Syria missile strikes, Trump turns from non‑intervention to waging war

The US military’s attack on a Syrian airforce base sets a worrying precedent of brashness and uncertainty in how the Trump administration may handle future crises in international relations.
Children sit at a makeshift camp for internally displaced people in Houdhieda, Yemen. Reuters/Abduljabbar Zeyad

Yemen

In Yemen, the civil conflict will likely drag on in a stalemate between the Houthi movement in the north and the Hadi government in the south. The amphibious landing of Gulf Cooperation Council forces…
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir will likely intensify the Washington charm offensive and continue to stress Saudi Arabia’s indispensability to regional security and terrorism matters. XXSTRINGERXX Xxxxx/Reuters

Saudi Arabia

This year will continue to be a period of great uncertainty in Saudi Arabia. After a deterioration of relations with the United States under President Obama, the kingdom will be focused on strengthening…
The world can only expect more attacks such that that took place in Brussels, as Islamic State continues to decline and lash out. EPA/Christophe Petit Tesson

Brussels attacks show just how desperate Islamic State has become

Although not an intuitive conclusion, the Brussels attacks are actually indicative of Islamic State’s growing decline and desperation.
L'ambassade de l'Arabie Saoudite a été prise d'assaut à Téhéran. Reuters

En Arabie saoudite, des exécutions d’abord à visée domestique

Riyad vient d’exécuter 47 personnes, dont un dignitaire chiite, provoquant la colère de l’Iran. Mais ces châtiments en cascade sont aussi et surtout destinés à maintenir la férule de la monarchie.
Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 people has prompted global protests. Reuters

Saudi executions: business as usual in a post‑Arab Spring world

The executions on the weekend are notable for the sheer number of people killed. However, they maintain a policy of political crackdown that was reinvigorated in Saudi Arabia during the Arab Spring.
Greater Australian air commitment to the campaign against Islamic State is a low-risk venture, militarily. AAP/Australian Defence

Australian planes are set to wing it over the Syrian cauldron

While symoblic, an increase in Australian firepower in the fight against Islamic State in Syria will not greatly affect the battlespace’s fundamental reality.
Saudi Arabia has been careful not to appear overly oppressive of groups like Islamic State for fear of antagonising its own constituents. Reuters

What’s behind Saudi Arabia’s connection to Islamic State?

Saudi citizens supporting Islamic State are not the result of a coherent plan directed by its rulers, but the overflow of a long-standing system used to maintain its domestic legitimacy.
Under the leadership of both Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda has failed to reproduce an event that has shaken the international order since 9/11. EPA

A global war for relevance: can al‑Qaeda reclaim the jihadi crown?

Islamic State’s rapid successes in Syria and Iraq stand in stark contrast to al-Qaeda’s efforts at global jihad over the past decade.

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