By Garsha Vazirian

Why Bahrain’s monarchy treats its people as an enemy

TEHRAN — There is an unspoken rule driving the security apparatus inside Manama: a population you deeply distrust can never be governed, only contained. The Al Khalifa monarchy, an absolute Sunni ruling elite dominating a native Shia majority, acts less like a sovereign government and more like an anxious security regime.

By Garsha Vazirian

The shock absorber doctrine and the ‘Abraham’ suicide pact

TEHRAN – The old American playbook in the Middle East has completely shed its diplomatic veneer. Arab capitals are not treated as sovereign partners; instead, they have been strategically downgraded to regional shock absorbers designed to absorb the geopolitical, economic, and military blows meant for Tel Aviv and Washington.

By Garsha Vazirian

The rain fell, and the UAE’s house on sand is falling

By choosing US and Israel over neighborhood, UAE ignored tectonic shifts that have now brought storm to its doorstep

TEHRAN — The United Arab Emirates had a defining choice to make, and it made the wrong one. For years, Abu Dhabi cast itself as the clever pragmatist of the Persian Gulf, a nimble trader that could glide above the region’s oldest fault lines.

By Wesam Bahrani

Syrians reject Israeli “aid”

TEHRAN – As the Zionist regime expands its grip on southern Syria, locals are refusing to extend their hands to the occupation regime.