Middle East
Can you tell a good guy from a bad guy in the Middle East?
Please excuse the tone of jubilation, but I have been dancing around my kitchen for the past couple of days,…
Where does Lebanon go from here?
Israel’s overt ground intervention into Lebanon is now entering its third week. So far, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have…
Iran and Hezbollah don’t want a war with Israel
Hezbollah’s response to the killing of senior official Fuad Shukr, when it finally came, was a more minor event than…
Can anything stop a full-scale conflict in the Middle East?
The fact that the Middle East stands on the brink of a catastrophic war can be explained by a scene…
Inside the new Arab-Israeli alliance
As Jordanian fighter jets shot down Iranian drones heading for Israel on Saturday night, there were joyful cries of Allahu…
When righteous anger goes wrong
From abroad I’ve returned to a country where, in language to which the word ‘shrill’ hardly does justice, fellow British…
What did Hamas think was going to happen?
Much misfortune the woebegone couldn’t have seen coming: a raging fire in the house next door that spreads to yours.…
Sunak should acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
When Liz Truss’s premiership came to an abrupt end, it appeared to spell doom for a historic policy shift raised…
Bush is leading us to tragedy (2002)
It’s 20 years since the clamour for the invasion of Iraq was at its loudest. Boris Johnson, The Spectator’s then…
Can Israelis trust the UN?
You probably think you’ve heard every story there is to hear about people getting fired over their tweets. Well, here’s…
The West cannot do business with Iran
Salman Rushdie’s would-be assassin might have been a lone wolf. He might have had no contact with military or intelligence…
Are the Abraham Accords working?
Two years ago, UAE citizens were barred from entering Israel. No longer. The inaugural Emirates flight touched down in Tel…
Why is Biden copying Obama's mistakes with Iran?
There was a picture taken today that says more than just a thousand words. The photograph was snapped in Sharm…
The West has to bite its lip for Saudi oil
It would be ridiculous to claim that Boris Johnson’s visit to Saudi Arabia is not morally problematic. He is going…
Can Boris get the Saudis to pump more oil?
The oil price is up by more than 40 per cent since the start of the year. It is being…
Why would the Saudis bail out Biden?
Is Saudi Arabia shunning Washington? Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly been refusing to phone Joe Biden, who wants the kingdom to…
How did US intelligence get Afghanistan so wrong?
It may well go down as the understatement of the year. In a quite extraordinary address to the nation after…
Who cares what Ben & Jerry’s think about Israel-Palestine?
When you think of the Israel-Palestine conflict, ice cream doesn’t usually come up. But that may be about to change.…
The Afghan withdrawal will only embolden the West’s enemies
‘How many thousands more Americans, daughters and sons, were you willing to risk?’ Biden asked critics of the decision to…
How China won over the Middle East
How China won over the Middle East
Is the worst yet to come in the Middle East?
If Iran steps in, the worst is still to come
The strange tale of NEOM: Saudi Arabia’s struggling desert megacity
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is desperate to shake Saudi Arabia’s addiction to oil. Its price has still not recovered from…
Al Qaeda and Iran’s dangerous partnership
What does the world’s foremost Shia power and the most notorious Sunni terror group have in common? Given that the…
The beauty and tragedy of Lebanon
I was thinking about tragedy. Could one use the term ‘chronically tragic’? My first instinct is against. Tragedy is the…
The never-ending smugness of the NeverTrumpers
In March 2016 as Donald Trump looked likely to be the Republican party’s nominee to run for president, more than 100 foreign…
