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  • Politics
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  • sanctions

Israeli singer Yuval Raphael parades with the Israeli flag during the dress rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on May 16, 2025. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Cultural boycotts: the double standards that expose Western hypocrisy

The international community's contradictory responses to Ukraine and Gaza lay bare the farce of a supposed rules-based global order

Sawsan Jamil Hasan 16 October 2025
Aliaa Abou Khaddour

New Syria sanctions relief (and risks) explained

Firms relying on the recent wave of lifted sanctions and exceptive relief will face significant hurdles in verifying that transactions do not benefit excluded actors

Matt Zweig and Max Meizlish 30 May 2025
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

Why Trump decided to lift sanctions on Syria

Trump's decision to reverse decades of US policy on Syria within just a few hours in Riyadh reflects the weight of influence that Middle Eastern leaders can have on Trump's decision-making process

Caroline Rose 20 May 2025
Al Majalla

Trump's move to lift Syria sanctions begs more questions than answers

Trump's announcement and Rubio's subsequent statement offered no clear roadmap for unwinding Syria sanctions layered under multiple authorities

Matt Zweig 19 May 2025
People celebrate in Damascus' Omeyyad square after US President Donald Trump's decision to lift sanctions in Syria, on May 13, 2025. Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP

Syria's long road to economic recovery can finally begin

Trump has lifted US sanctions, offering Syria a "chance at greatness". Despite lingering hurdles, for the first time in a long time, there is an electric sense of hope in the country.

Joseph Daher 15 May 2025
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) watching as US President Donald Trump (C) shakes hands with Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh on May 14, 2025. Bandar AL-JALOUD / Saudi Royal Palace

Trump's lifting of Syria sanctions solidifies Iran's regional defeat

It could very well boost Israel's security as well as that of everyone else in the region

James Jeffrey 14 May 2025
A currency exchange shop in Moscow displays the Russian ruble to dollar exchange rate on November 27, 2024. AFP

Even if sanctions are eased, Russia's economy will be strained

While some indicators are positive, others are troubling. The arrival of Donald Trump in the White House has given the Kremlin a political boost, and lifting sanctions will help, but it is no panacea.

Nazareth Seferian 16 March 2025
Matthew Zweig, one of the architects of the Caesar Act

Caesar Act architect: Lifting Syria sanctions is "complicated"

The US levied swingeing sanctions on Bashar al-Assad's regime for torturing and killing thousands. Matt Zweig, who helped draft it, speaks to Al Majalla about its details and future.

Ibrahim Hamidi 02 March 2025
Russia’s determination to defy the West’s sanctions was on display at its Davos equivalent in St. Petersburg, with President Vladimir Putin looking South and East for partnerships. Axel Rangel Garcia_AFP_Reuters

Putin touts trade bump with global south at 'Russia's Davos'

Showcasing his economy's resilience despite moves to isolate it, Russia's president was keen to attract potential trade allies at an important conference in St Petersburg.

Nazareth Seferian 16 June 2024
Nathalie Lees

Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ is sailing through sanctions to pay for war

Oil revenue boosting the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine comes from a fleet of ships and intermediaries designed to evade sanctions and price caps. All signs are that it is working.

Nazareth Seferian 30 May 2024
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Axel Rangel Garcia
Politics

The UN is dead: Chemillier-Gendreau on the collapse of international law

13 January 2026

In an interview with Al Majalla, the prominent French jurist discusses Israeli and Western duplicity, their violation of international law, and why Israel bears the cost of Gaza's reconstruction

Elie Kossaifi
Opinion

Iran's regime may not be falling, but it is fading

16 January 2026

Tehran's elite have few friends, but regional states fear the consequences of a disorderly transition. If Iran's 92 million people turn on one another, it could cause millions to flee abroad.

Omer Onhon
Al Majalla
Politics

Trump's retreat from multilateralism throws up a host of challenges

14 January 2026

Going forward, the international community needs to reduce dependence on the US without upsetting the world's largest military and economic power. It will be a shaky tightrope to walk.

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy
Yasser Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund, delivers a speech during the third edition of the Future Investment Initiative, in Riyadh on 28 October 2025. AFP
Business & Economy

Saudi Arabia loosens restrictions on foreign investors

12 January 2026

Scrapping foreign ownership caps and qualifying criteria will bring in more capital, with markets reacting positively to the latest reforms that build towards a more open country

Sharif Mohammad
Sudanese displaced from the Heglig area in western Sudan wait to receive humanitarian aid at the Abu al-Naga displacement Camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on 30 December 2025. ABDULRAHMAN GUMAA / AFP
Politics

Sudan stands between war and an imposed peace

16 January 2026

Al Majalla lays out three possible scenarios for the war-torn country in the weeks and months ahead

Areig Elhag and Ben Fishman

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OPINIONS

One year of Trump 2.0: the age of MAGA imperialism?

Christopher Phillips
Christopher Phillips

Sanctions make stabilising Iran's rial an uphill battle

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

The G7 gets serious about critical minerals

Abdulfattah Khattab
Abdulfattah Khattab

How the SDF's hand was twisted into Syria integration

Omer Onhon
Omer Onhon
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