by Ausaf Sayeed | Aug 17, 2026 | Geopolitics, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan
Trump’s endorsement changes what the Makkah agreement means. For India, the corridor matters more than the clause. The most revealing comment on the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement since its signing came not from Riyadh, Ankara or Islamabad, but from Washington. On...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Jul 30, 2026 | Energy Security, Geopolitics, Iran, Saudi Arabia
Photo Credit: AFP/BBC Saudi Arabia’s first direct intervention in the Iran war signals the erosion of American protection and the emergence of a more transactional Gulf order. For five months, Saudi Arabia absorbed the impact of the war with Iran rather than entering...
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...
