Middle East & North Africa Archive

In mid-October, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he would not recertify the Iran nuclear agreement, disavowing it but kicking to Congress the decision of whether the United States should reimpose sanctions on Iran and essentially scrap the deal. In doing so, Trump singled out Iran’s continued development of ballistic missiles, and the deal’s near-total silence on Iran’s missile programs, as one of the agreement’s “flaws.” The wisdom of linking the nuclear deal to Iran’s ballistic missile program is debatable. But a series of recent tests and public unveilings indicate that Iran is indeed making significant progress toward meeting its […]

On Monday, Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, accepted the resignation of the country’s entire Cabinet, dissolving it amid political infighting but with no official explanation. The move reflects Kuwait’s contentious political system, which has jeopardized the country’s recent efforts to stave off a financial crisis through needed economic reforms. In an email interview, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute and an associate fellow at Chatham House in London, explains what was behind the Cabinet’s resignation and what it means for Kuwait’s political and economic future. WPR: What led Kuwait’s emir to dissolve the […]