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The article reports that In January 2020, the Sultanate of Oman's long-time leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id Al Said, passed away and was succeeded by Haythim bin Tariq Al Said, a cousin selected by Oman's royal family immediately upon Qaboos's death. Sultan Haythim espouses policies similar to those of Qaboos and has not altered U.S.-Oman ties or Oman's regional policies.

The article reports that Qatar has fostered a close security partnership with the U.S. while engaging with a wide range of actors who are often at odds with each other, including some Sunni Islamists, Iran and Iran-backed groups, and Israeli official. It mentions Qatar has employed its ample financial resources to exert regional influence, often independent of the other members of the Gulf Cooperation. It also mentions Arab states object to Qatar's independent foreign policy.

The article analyzes U.S. and international sanctions against Iran. Topics discussed include sanctions triggered by terrorism list designation; punishments and fines implemented against some banks; and Sanctions on Iran's non-oil industries and sectors, and Executive Order 13902 on the construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles sector.

The article focuses on United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven principalities and issues for U.S. Policy. It mentions UAE's stance on those groups has contributed to a major rift with Qatar, another member of the Gulf Cooperation Council alliance. It also mentions UAE is supporting an anti-Islamist commander based in eastern Libya, Khalifa Hafter, who has sought to defeat a U.N.-backed government that derives some support from Muslim Brotherhood factions.

The article provides information on the U.S. military withdrawal and Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban movement was formed by Afghan Muslim clerics and students in 1993. The deployment of military forces to Afghanistan was prompted by the refusal of the Taliban to hand over Al Qaeda terrorists. The Department of Defense spent 837.3 billion dollars on the war in Afghanistan from September 11, 2001 through March 31, 2021.

The article discusses the U.S. Congressional Research Service report which provides an overview of the U.S.-Iran relations. It mentions that the U.S. President Joe Biden Administration has engaged in talks with Iran to restore full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, including offering the lifting of those U.S. sanctions. It also mentions that the Administration has conducted air strikes on these militias in response to attacks on U.S forces and installations.

The article focuses on Sultanate of Oman has been a strategic partner of the U.S. since 1980, when it became the first Persian Gulf state to sign a formal accord permitting the U.S. military to use its facilities. It mentions Oman generally avoided joining other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran for the release of U.S. citizens held by Iran as well as U.S.-Iran direct talks that later produced the July 14, 2015, Iran nuclear agreement Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The article focuses on Congress shaped U.S. national security policy toward several critical crises and during the decade from 2011 through 2020 towards Middle East. It mentions U.S. Constitution, legislative and executive branches of government use a range of tools in exercising their respective foreign policy powers. It also mentions Congress also provided for extensive U.S. sanctions targeting Iran for its nuclear program, weapons proliferation, restrictions on human rights and democracy.

Summary On November 24, 2013, Iran and the six powers that have negotiated with Iran about its nuclear program since 2006 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, [...]

Summary Kuwait has been pivotal to U.S. efforts to secure the Persian Gulf region because of its willingness to cooperate with U.S. strategy and military operations in the region, its [...]

November 12, 2014 Summary The Islamic State is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that has expanded its control over areas of parts of Iraq and Syria since […]

Election Days and Controversy According to IEC officials, turnout in the April 5, 2014, first round was over 7 million--60% turnout. Violence on election day was relatively minor and did [...]

October 29, 2014 Summary Since the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, sectarian and ethnic divisions have widened, fueling a major challenge to Iraq's stability and to Iraq's non-Muslim minority [...]

Japan/Korean Peninsula/Other East Asia Since 2010, in part in deference to their alliances with the United States, Japan and South Korea have imposed trade, banking, and energy sanctions on Iran--similar [...]

Select Policy Debates Competing Views of the Al Qaeda Threat Policymakers, while agreeing that jihadist violence represents a significant threat to the United States, continue to debate the level of [...]

Contents Governance, Human Rights, and Reform Political Reform and Responses to Opposition A Top-Driven Modest Reform Process Government Handling of Opposition U.S. Democracy Promotion Efforts and UAE Restrictions General Human [...]

Contents Overview: The Situation in Iraq Islamic State June 2014 Offensive and ISF Retreat Iraq's Kurds Take Advantage of ISF Collapse Islamic State Goes on Offensive Against Kurdish-Controlled Territory The [...]

Foreign Policy and Support for Terrorist Groups Iran's foreign policy is a product of the ideology of Iran's Islamic revolution, blended with longstanding national interests. Some U.S. observers interpret Iran's [...]

Regional Dimension The Obama Administration is attempting to persuade all of Afghanistan's neighbors to support a stable and economically viable Afghanistan, and to welcome Afghanistan into regional security and economic [...]

June 11, 2014 Summary The uprising against Bahrain's Al Khalifa royal family that began on February 14, 2011, amidst other regional uprisings, has not toppled Bahrain's regime or achieved the [...]

Summary Afghanistan is the world's primary source of opium poppy cultivation and opium and heroin production, as well as a major global source of cannabis (marijuana) and cannabis resin (hashish). [...]

April 29, 2014 Summary Kuwait has been pivotal to U.S. efforts to secure the Persian Gulf region because of its location, its role as the object of past Iraqi aggression, [...]

April 22, 2014 Summary Most experts agree that the multilateral sanctions imposed on Iran since 2010 have contributed significantly to producing flexibility in Iran's position on the scope of its [...]

The article focuses on Iran's national security policy is arguably the product of overlapping and sometimes competing priorities such as the ideology of Iran's Islamic revolution. It mentions international shipping in the Persian Gulf and in Iraq that represent, in part, an attempt to pressure the U.S. to relax sanctions on Iran. It also mentions actions have continued despite Iran's struggles with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak there.

The article presents a report of the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS), that talks about the U.S.-Iran relations that have been adversarial since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. It mentions former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration engaged Iran directly and obtained a July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The article focuses on U.S.-Iran tensions have heightened significantly, and evolved into conflict after U.S. military forces killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. It mentions U.S.-Iran tensions are the 2018 Trump Administration withdrawal from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It also mentions Iran has continued all its operations for wrestling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The article presents a reports of the U.S. Congressional Research Service, related to Iran's foreign and defense Policies. It mentions that Iran's leadership seeks to deter or thwart the U.S; supports acts of international terrorism; and also mentions that Iran's struggles with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It mentions that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration publicly demands that Iran end its Iran's "malign activities," and alter other objectionable behaviors.

The article focuses on U.S. sanctions on Iran which contribute to Iran's decision to enter into a 2015 agreement that put limits on its nuclear program. It mentions Iran accepted the 2015 multilateral nuclear accord Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It also mentions Iran's support for regional armed factions, its human rights abuses, its efforts to acquire missile and advanced conventional weapons technology, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The article focuses on administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has prioritized countering Iran and addressing other regional security issues, and to that end has lifted the previous administration's conditionality on major arms sales to Bahrain's military and has corroborated Bahrain leadership assertions. It mentions government's use of force against protesters and curtailed U.S. assistance to Bahrain's internal security organizations.

The article offers information on the relation between Oman and the U.S. Topics discussed include a formal accord signed by Oman when it became the first Persian Gulf state permitting the U.S. military to use its facilities; U.S. arms sales and other security assistance to Oman; anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing; and also mentions about the democratization, human rights, unrest and freedom of expression, media and association.

The article focuses on the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) Commander, who regarded as one of the most powerful and important officials in Iran, has potentially dramatic implications for the U.S. It mentions the relations between Iran and the U.S. have been mostly confrontational since 1979; and also mentions that Iran supports a number of armed groups in Iraq, including U.S. designated terrorist organizations such as Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH).