...
http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/3140.htm
[25]
Rosneft chief Sechin damps talk of Russia-Saudi oil supply deal, FT, September 7, 2015:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5ee82ce2-553b-11e5-8642-453585f2cfcd.html#axzz3mFpTTxV3
[26]
Boost for UAE-Iran trade, Khaleej Times, July 15, 2015:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/economy/boost-for-uae-iran-trade
[27]
MIDEAST MONEY-Sanctions sap Dubai's role as Iran trade hub, Reuters, Feb 15, 2012:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/15/iran-business-dubai-idUSL5E8DC0CE20120215
...
... been the Assad regime: though secular in ideology (Ba'athist), it is headed by Arab Alawite (a sect of Shiite Islam that is a small minority in Syria) Bashar al-Assad and is controlled mainly by Alawate Shiites. It is backed by Shiite Persian Iranians and the Arab Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Sunni Muslims, in general, do not like Shiites, and that is an understatement; many Sunnis do not even consider Shiites to be Muslims. That is why so much money from rich Gulf countries like Saudi ...
Introduction
In May 2015, the Russian government removed political and legal barriers to the sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran, paving the way for a commercial agreement and subsequent delivery. This highly controversial decision led to extensive commentary from many different stakeholders, including the governments of the US, Israel, Iran, and the Gulf Cooperation Council ...
... intervention. Qaddafi, alone and isolated and ruling over a far smaller population, was a relatively easy target. Compared to Qaddafi’s regime, Assad’s military was much stronger and, unlike Qaddafi’s, had strong patrons in Russia and Iran who would complicate and increase the costs of any Western intervention and made the prospects of any success for the Syrian people on their own quite dim.
Some powers talked of intervening in Syria, but with the U.S. signaling no appetite for direct ...
... colonizers, will eventually necessitate a change in American policy as Israel refuses to change its policies and boxes itself into being an apartheid-like political pariah within the Western world.
4.) There’s a good chance for a thaw/deal with Iran in the near future.
More than any president since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Obama has shown an energy and a willingness to move past long-failed non-engagement, as has Iran’s President Rouhani. Normalization is a very real possibility....
