This intelligence brief for an international network of aid agencies and civil society organisation answers four intelligence requests related to Qatari aid and other finance in Sudan, as well as Qatar's policy towards South Kordofan and Blue Nile states and the architects of such policies.
Category: Middle East and North Africa
A witching hour deal and the morning after: The Iran-P5+1 nuclear deal
The nuclear deal inked in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1 in the early hours of 24 November momentarily closed the curtains on a decade of painful suspense. In this article, Open Briefing contributing analyst Kevjn Lim disassembles the agreement and assesses its implications for Iran and the wider region.
Iran’s cyber posture
The covert tit-for-tat war between Iran and Israel and various Western allies has steadily expanded to include a cocktail of diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, attacks directed at civilians overseas, and now, a virtual war with real-life consequences. This intelligence brief examines Iran's cyber warfare capabilities and their likely intentions.
What Rouhani may mean for Iranians
Open Briefing: Iranian president-elect Hassan Rouhani’s positive reputation among Western powers when he led Iran’s nuclear negotiations provides Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, if he wants, with the pretext for greater flexibility at this critical point.
Iran’s outreach to Afghanistan and Tajikistan faces obstacles
Open Briefing: For all the focus on contemporary Iran, relatively little attention is paid to its trilateral ties with Afghanistan and Tajikistan, the geolinguistic remnants of an eclectic series of empires collectively denominated Persian.
Intelligence brief: The direction of travel for Turkish policy towards Sudan
Open Briefing: Turkey is likely to continue increasing economic and military links with Sudan, but high-profile political engagement with Sudanese officials will remain difficult for Ankara.
Untangling Egypt’s web of political and economic challenges
Open Briefing: Minimising IMF financial support through access to Gulf State finance allows Morsi to craft new political narratives that reject views of Egypt as a US client state and redefines Egypt within a framework of Arab nationalism and centre-right political Islam.
Seizing the initiative: Israel’s strategic environment and the need for assertive diplomacy
Open Briefing: Israel’s strategic neighbourhood is in flux and Netanyahu’s second government has responded with reactive cautiousness. However, this dynamic calls instead for more assertive diplomacy and therefore a change in Israel’s current posturing.