by Ausaf Sayeed | Jun 18, 2026 | Energy Security, Geopolitics
The Islamabad Memorandum has stopped a war and reopened the Strait of Hormuz — a real achievement. Much remains to be negotiated, but for India, the opening it creates is genuine: a chance to secure energy, revive Chabahar, and shape the order ahead. When US President...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Jun 13, 2026 | Geopolitics, India, Iran, Middle East, USA, West Asia
In a single Thursday, the war over Iran shifted from the brink of catastrophe to the cusp of a deal. On June 11, President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran “very hard” and seize Kharg Island, through which nine-tenths of Iranian oil flows; by nightfall, he had...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Jun 4, 2026 | Abraham Accords, Geopolitics, India, Israel, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, West Asia
Normalisation of the Arab world’s relationship with Israel, to be meaningful and lasting, cannot bypass Palestine and be bundled into geopolitical horse-trading Donald Trump’s late-May 2026 demand that virtually every Arab and Islamic state “mandatorily” join the...
by Ausaf Sayeed | May 15, 2026 | GCC, Geopolitics, India-UAE, Middle East, West Asia
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Abu Dhabi on the morning of May 15, he was received by a formation of UAE military jets — a ceremonial gesture that carried more analytical weight than protocol alone could explain. The escort was not simply a welcome. It...
by Ausaf Sayeed | May 4, 2026 | Uncategorized
The United Arab Emirates left the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on 1 May, ending a fifty-nine-year membership without consulting Riyadh, Moscow or anyone else. The cartel’s most senior officials learned of the decision on the wires. The oil...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Apr 28, 2026 | Energy, Geopolitics, India-UAE
When the United Arab Emirates announced on 28 April that it was walking out of OPEC and OPEC+ after fifty-nine years, the news was framed in most Western capitals as a story about Saudi Arabia’s loss and Donald Trump’s gain. It is both. But for New Delhi, which...
