Saudi Missteps Destabilize Global Oil Market
Bottom Line Up Front The April agreement among major oil producers to reduce global oil production has failed to stabilize world oil prices. Market […] More
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Declares Yemen Cease-Fire Amidst Growing Domestic Issues
Bottom Line Up Front Saudi Arabia announced a unilateral cease-fire in Yemen amidst growing concerns over the spreading coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Arabia’s scorched earth […] More
Could a Power Grab by MbS Unravel Al Saud Rule
Cipher Brief Expert Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. […] More
US Foreign Policy and a ‘Bridge to the Unknown’
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He served as the Deputy […] More
OSINT Global Trendline Report
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national […] More
Saudi Arabia’s Relentless Campaign to Silence Its Critics
Bottom Line Up Front Saudi Arabia cultivated ties with Twitter employees and persuaded them to spy on various user accounts and report back to […] More
The Cipher Brief’s OSINT Trend Line Report
The Cipher Brief’s NEW Open Source Collection Report (OSINT) uses open source data to track trends around the world that impact national and global security. […] More
Forever Enemies and Forever Wars
Gary Grappo is a former U.S. ambassador who served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad; U.S. Ambassador to the […] More
Managing Iran’s Actions to Avoid Collapse of Global Economy
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman is warning that military conflict with Iran would collapse the global economy. He made the statement during an […] More
What’s Next for Iran?
The U.S. has decided to send additional troops to Saudi Arabia after an attack on an oil facility that seriously impacted the country’s oil production […] More
Are There Still ‘Red Lines’ in the Middle East?
Bottom Line Up Front The September 14 strike on Saudi critical energy infrastructure by Iran or one of its allies directly challenges U.S. regional […] More
Houthis Drone Attack Targets Major Saudi Oil Facilities
Bottom Line Up Front Over the weekend, Houthi rebels launched a drone attack against Saudi Arabia, targeting the Saudi Aramco crude stabilization facility in […] More
MbS’ Influence in the Middle East and Beyond
Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) finds himself in an interesting situation these days with his influence waning throughout the […] More
Washington and Riyadh in Lockstep on Foreign Policy
Bottom Line Up Front The Trump administration is so firmly aligned with Saudi Arabia, even bipartisan measures in Congress to curtail U.S. arms sales […] More
Deadlier Skies: Risks and Benefits of Drone Technology
Last week, the U.S. nearly launched retaliatory attacks against Iran for the shooting down of a U.S. military drone that was operating in the region. […] More
The Impact of Harder-Hitting Sanctions on Iran
The U.S. moved this week to apply even more pressure on Iran to end its involvement in illicit activities around the world by announcing that […] More
Setting U.S. Relations with Saudi Arabia on a Correction Course
There was never any question that America’s relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would become one of its most important in the region and […] More
Shifting Sands of the Middle East and the Impact on the Arab World
In part two of his two-part exclusive series for The Cipher Brief, AEI Scholar Kenneth Pollack, the author of the recently-released Armies of Sand: The Past, […] More