Don't act the prophet and learn to bear the recurring disappointment of one false dawn after another. Two lessons I've learned the hard way after thirteen years of covering the realities of the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf regions with the knowledgeable and engaging Dr Harry Hagopian.

Today's Middle East Analysis podcast, the first of 2021, actually has a positive feel to it in light of the Al-Ula Agreement that brought to an end the three-and-a-half year blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Signed in the Saudi city that bears its name, the agreement has led to a cautious reconciliation that should suit all parties not to mention the outgoing US president Donald Trump.

Respected journalist and analyst Rami Khouri described the tactic of boycotting a state as a "fool's tool" so does Dr Harry Hagopian see this agreement as a template for conflict resolution in the region?

All this and more in January's Middle East Analysis.