Can sustainable peace be established in Middle East?

Byline: Shabbir Kazmi

One wonders why Middle East and North Africa (MENA) continue to suffer from internal turmoil as well as proxy wars. Some analysts say the single largest reason behind the present turmoil can be ongoing attempts to keep crude oil prices high to facilitate other countries to boost their domestic oil production.

The latest evidence was attack on Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia to attract high subscription to Initial Public Offering (IPO). The immediate success was, China opting to take US$10 billion stake in one of the largest energy production facility in the world.

Reportedly, Saudi Arabia is making efforts to negotiate an end to the Yemen war by initiating a dialogue with Iran. This move is not likely to be approved by US President Donald Trump, the biggest proponent of maximum pressure on the Islamic republic.

Gulf Arab unity for countering Iran

United States Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein pressed Gulf Arab states to reconcile differences and unify military capabilities as tensions with Iran simmer. Washington sees an ongoing dispute that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf state Egypt have with Qatar as a threat to efforts to contain Iran and has pushed for a united front. "No one country has everything it needs to defend itself but together we have exactly what we need for collective defense," Goldfein said. The US blames Iran for a series of attacks in the Gulf over the summer, including the 14th September 2019 missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia that temporarily shutdown half the kingdom's oil production. Washington has unsuccessfully tried to mediate the dispute, in which the four nations have severed political, trade and transport ties with Qatar since mid-2017 over accusations it supports terrorism. Doha denies the charge and says the embargo aims to impinge on its sovereignty.

The US is partner to all sx Gulf States. Qatar hosts Al-Udeid air base, the largest US military facility in the region, while Bahrain is home to the Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Saudi officials hope that talks mediated by Oman and Britain between the kingdom and Houthi rebels will lead to a revival of stalled talks between the Yemeni insurgents and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has tasked his younger brother and Saudi deputy defense minister, Khalid bin Salman, with engineering an end to the Yemeni war as part of a...