The names floated for the incoming Trump administration suggest that the greater Middle East will remain a focus for Washington. An attention that Iran and Turkey do not like.
Starlink, Telegram, pagers, mobile phones and 5G antennas are among the equipment and applications for the civilian market that have attracted the attention of militaries and intelligence services.
The threat of a major war in the Middle East has diminished after the latest missile barrage exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. However, Muslim and Israeli extremists are blocking peace talks in Gaza and the long-term settlement of disputes in the region.
Hezbollah fighters can be a dangerous foe, even for one of the world’s best equipped and most prepared armies, the Israel Defense Forces.
In the recent legislative elections, the regime in Tehran scored a victory and suffered a defeat at the same time. The winners were exactly who the ayatollahs wanted to be, but the turnout was the lowest in the history of the Islamic republic. The victory shows that the regime's ultraconservatives are firmly in control of Iran, but the low turnout indicates a loss of popular support for a regime that has been increasingly challenged in recent years.
Attacks by pro-Iranian Shiite groups have fueled concerns about an escalation of the war in Gaza. Iran doesn't seem to want a war, but a miscalculation could escalate the situation.
The Middle East seems to be undergoing an all-encompassing reset. One at a time, Arab nations are making their pace with Israel. Monarchies in the Gulf are trying to settle old scores. Radical groups shore up old alliances. Iran gets pushed back after over a decade and a half of expansions. The highlights of the 2000s were the outcome of the attack of the al-Qaeda network on the United States, while those of the following decade the result of the Arab Spring. In the East, the third decade is marked by the political will of its leaders.