Dr. Salem AlKetbi

Iran’s negotiating priorities - nuclear or missile weapons

Iran’s main threat is not nuclear technology, but its plans for regional domination, enabled by its dangerout missile program.Op-ed.

Ukraine War: The real danger is yet to come

The US may want to take advantage of the situation to defeat Russia, one of its biggest strategic rivals. That means all-out WWIII.Op-ed.

Passover 2022 in the UAE Jewish community

Whose strange logic links the Abu Dhabi Passover celebrations to the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs? Op-ed.

Can we create a culture of peace in the Middle East?

Repeating the same slogans and playing politics with a just Arab cause will not solve it. It will not bring either side security.

Iran and Russia's clashing interests

For the first time Iran and Russia have faced off and the interests of the two allies now clash in previously unimagined ways. Op-ed.

Ukraine: A new world order

Ukraine is not just about Russia’s influence in that country. NATO faces a direct Sino-Russian challenge, the US a loss of dominance.Op-ed.

Israel and the Arabs: a new strategic reality

“The Israeli enemy' phrase has changed in a good part of the Middle East.Those who believe otherwise should come to their senses. Op-ed.

Iran's Abdollahian’s call for dialogue: genuine or exclusionary?

Iran calls for dialogue on regional problems with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, and Turkey. Note who is missing. Op-ed.

Op-Ed:

A dangerous scenario of widespread chaos in the Middle East

An international stance must be taken against the militia axis whose attacks on the UAE alone included four drones just last week. Op-ed.

Could the Houthis attack Israel?

Arab media discussing that Israel is a target of the Al Houthi militia is not a matter of analytical imagination, it is happening. Op-ed.

Op-Ed:

Hezbollah at daggers drawn

Hezbollah/Iran already controls Lebanon causing chaos and destruction. Israel must find a way to change this before it is too late . Op-ed.

Hezbollah: Not your everyday terror militia

Hezbollah is a time bomb that threatens to rupture relations between states and has destroyed beautiful Lebanon. Who is next? Israel? Op-ed.

How drones are changing the game

The price of the Turkish Bayraktar drone is estimated at $5 million. In comparison, the F-35 fighter jet costs about $122 million. Op-ed.

The China challenge, the Iran impasse and the Ukraine conundrum

The specter of war is escalating to the point that Taiwan’s FM Joseph Wu has expressed hope that Taiwan will not trigger a 3rd WW. Op-ed.

Internal conflicts between Palestinian Arab factions

The chances for a political solution to the PA issue have diminished. Israel is attempting to attain a sustainable strategic reality. Op-ed.

On what can UAE and Israel cooperate?

Emirati-Israeli ambitions go beyond the traditional political debates and phrases that “decorate” statements after joint meetings.Op-ed.

UAE and Israel: genuine relations and lasting partnership

Rapprochement with Iran does not change the reality and sensitivities on which the relations of the UAE and Israel are based. Opinion.

The view from Dubai:

Israel and Iran: post-Vienna scenarios

There is deliberate ambiguity about Israel’s position or next action, whether negotiations result in an agreement or fail.Opinion.

The View from Dubai:

The Sahara issue: A clear-cut Moroccan position

The US decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty in the Sahara is a shift in international position in favor of the kingdom's cause.Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

Is there a Plan B to contain Iran’s nuclear threat?

The US can no longer pretend that it is relying solely on diplomacy to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat. Israel certainly is not. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

Mullahs and Taliban: confrontation or containment?

The Iranian regime feels powerless and is not able to protect Afghan Shiites as it has in neighboring states.What course will it take?Op-ed.

The mullahs’ runaround on the UAE island issue

When it comes to real occupation, such as that of the UAE islands occupied by Iran, the Islamic Republic is muddying the waters. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

Nuclear negotiations: a new Iranian strategy?

The real problem facing Biden in negotiating with the mullahs is that they realize that the White House is at a strategic impasse. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

Middle East: We need to get off the beaten track

Security and stability in the Middle East can only be achieved by thinking outside the box. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

The rise of China and the new Cold War

it is likely that the world will gradually be divided into two blocs, one led by the US and the other under Chinese leadership. Op-ed.

Iran’s irrationality in relation to Israel

The mullahs do not want us to think like them They don’t want to stick to the rules of the game that they play regionally. Op-ed.

Recognize the Taliban or face horror

This is not the Taliban’s first experience governing Afghanistan. If the movement has learned from past experiences, so has the world.Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

Abraham Peace Accords: one year later

There is a positive atmosphere that has begun to affect and impact everyone. Voices that questioned the agreement have disappeared. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

World order: Consequences of the Afghanistan drawdown

Moscow seeks to promote a multilateral world order led by the UN Security Council.permanent members Russia, the US, UK, China, France. Op-ed

/The view from Dubai:

Have the Taliban emboldened Al Houthi?

The leader of Yemen’s Houthia, Ansar Allah, recently vowed to take control of all Yemeni cities and liberate them from foreign powers. Op-ed

Taliban 2021: A turnaround in politics and governance?

The extent to which its ideology and approach have changed concerns the Taliban hardline religious vision, leaders and supporters. Op-ed.

How the Afghanistan debacle looks from Dubai

Has the US failed in Afghanistan? What has happened is the most serious warning of the erosion of American influence in the world. Op-ed.

Taliban yesterday and Taliban today

The Taliban want to appear before the world in a completely different way than in the past. But change is proven by actions, not words.Op-ed

Tunisia suffers as Muslim Brotherhood fails at governing

The Muslim Brotherhood fails dismally at running a country, destroying Tunisia as the Hezbollah did in Lebanon. What lies ahead? Op-ed.

Crisis in Tunisia: The Brotherhood’s trail of failures

People attacked and burned part of the headquarters of the Brotherhood movement, which holds the parliamentary majority. Op-ed.

Afghanistan in the wake of the US withdrawal

The major players in the Afghanistan situation would do well to make sure the Taliban keep the idea of an Islamic Emirate at bay. Op-ed.

Milestones that bring us closer to our goal

The UAE has never said that establishing relations with Israel would bring peace to the Middle East. It is not in the hands of the UAE Op-ed

Behind the escalation between the Iranian mullahs and the US

Pres. Biden, who has prioritized ending US involvement in conflict zones, faces a new crisis in Iraq that could cause US casualties. Op-ed..

The UAE and the so-called ‘national sin’

Hamas has the right to say what it wants on regional or international developments. We can, however object and denounce as we wiish.Op-ed.

Biden and Khamenei’s nail-biting game

Irani's mullahs are gradually moving to the final stage of their North Korean-style brinkmanship strategy, upping the heat on the US. Op-ed.

How does a more radical Iran think?

What is happening now is that for the first time, the Iranian regime is devoid of so-called moderates or reformists. Op-ed.

Hezbollah and the hijacking of the Lebanese State

Security and stability in the Middle East will remain a dream if militia remain as parallel States, governments and armies.Op-ed.

Iran’s nuclear progress: the genie and the lamp

Things will not go back to square one, no matter what the West does, but it had better act, as the genie is breaking out of the lamp. Op-ed

The voice of reason goes unheard

Wars can be started much more easily than making peace. Peace is sought by those with future visions of development and construction. Op-ed.

No choice but a final peace

The world wants to find a specific authority to address the Palestinian Arab issue and begin to work on a real and final peace. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

The vicious circle in the Middle East

The question many are asking is why has stability in the Middle East become subject to groups and organizations and not states? Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

The co-existential crisis in the Middle East

Peace through just approaches is neither a utopia nor an impossibility. The condition? A good and strong will to make peace. Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

Zarif’s leaked audio imbroglio

This crisis reflects the conflict between people and not the principles of the regime and the revolution. Op-ed.

The view from Dubai:

A brand new cold war?

What really lies behind the mutual expulsion of diplmats and not so veiled threats between Russia and the USA? Op-ed.

The View from Dubai:

A new world order: clash or coexistence?

Washington’s relations with Beijing and Moscow are far more important and serious than the complexity of their conceptual differences.Op-ed.

The American-Iranian dialogue: No surprises

The Biden administration’s steps are proceeding as if they were drawn up by the mullahs, who are facing the scenario of their dreams. Op-ed.

The Middle East can not put up with repeated diplomatic missteps

Things will get out of hand if the US continues to search for a way to appease the mullahs, putting its loyal allies in danger. Op-ed.

The Iran nuclear issue in the post-Covid world

The discord between US and European positions on the nuclear issue is a catalyst for Iranian defiance of the US position to date. Op-ed.

Reflecting on the Pope’s visit to Iraq

Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq in March is historic It is the first of its kind, reflecitng his belief in human brotherhood. Op-ed.

Awliya Al Dam terrorists and the Revolutionary Guards’ plans

Terrorist organizations and gangs form, multiply, vanish and pop up in the blink of an eye, and are a threat to US personnel. Op-ed

Iran’s mullahs and the start of negotiations

The Biden administration has come under increasing and accelerating Iranian pressure in recent days. Will it give in? Opinion.

“The trapped Cat” and the acquisition of nuclear weapons

Alll negotiations aimed at postponing 'the trapped Cat' - Iran - from gaining nuclear weapons are merely pain relievers. Op-ed.

Iran's presidential elections in June- are the mullahs worried?

Not only Israel and the PA have elections soon, the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, has 6 months left in office and can't run again.Op-ed

Biden was bequeathed a hefty political legacy

A seasoned statesman like Joe Biden has a great ability to build consensus in fractured America - if he so wishes. Op-ed..

The interesting American position on the nuclear deal

The issue is no longer a blank check, as the mullahs had been thinking for months.Opinion.