Newsaholic

  Two state-level policy changes in the Middle East are likely to combine to have a significant impact on regional stability in light of recent political developments . After a seven-year hiatus, Saudi Arabia and Iran decided to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies on March 10 in a deal mediated by China and signed in Beijing. That is, as Simon Mabon remarked in an essay for the Conversation, a great development even though it is still far from putting an end to wars like the bloody war in Yemen. The Times' Middle East correspondent Michael Spencer had previously written on a Gulf plot to normalize ties with the Assad regime in Syria. If this allegation is true, the two occurrences will have a significant impact on Middle East affairs, not least because of recent social and political changes in Iran and Israel. The Times article's main point was that some Arab countries desire to normalize their ties with Damascus, despite the US and its western partners...