Afkār is a publication of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, providing short-form analyses, insights, and perspectives on regional issues and developments from the Council's experts and outside contributors. Afkār is published in English and Arabic, and is edited by Omar H. Rahman.
Forecasters put oil at $150 to $200 a barrel once the Strait of Hormuz closed. Five months on it has averaged $94—not because the barrels came back, but because the market keeps betting they soon will.
Israel's strike on Doha and Iran's sustained assault on Qatar and Oman have turned two of the region's few remaining neutral channels into targets. If mediators cannot expect basic protection, the diplomacy every future ceasefire depends on will disappear.
The tepid response of Ali al-Zaidi's new Iraqi government to outlaw militias' involvement in the fighting could drag the country into a disastrous regional war.