The new leadership in Syria has dispatched officials to Saudi Arabia, for the first official visit outside the country. The delegation is being led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, the defense minister and the head of intelligence services. James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, discusses the importance of the Syrian government's efforts to rebuild ties with Arab nations.

Once viewed as a breeder of religious extremism, Saudi Arabia earned brownie points as the international community sighed a sigh of relief when Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, substantially reduced global funding of ultra-conservative strands of Islam and started to propagate a socially more relaxed interpretation of the faith.

Almost a decade later, the benefits of the change far outweigh the costs.

Much like Hezbollah miscalculated with its 15-month-long war of attrition against Israel, Yemen’s Houthi rebels risk being the next target in Israel’s campaign to rewrite the Middle East’s political map.

“We will act with strength, determination, and ingenuity. Even if it takes time, the result will be the same as with other terrorist arms,” said Prime Mi Netanyahu said on Monday.

Some Israelis suggest that to effectively target the Houthis, Israel should simultaneously emasculate Iran, already on the defensive because of the loss of ousted President Bashar al Assad’s Syria, the weakening of Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah, and severe Israeli damage inflicted on the Islamic Republic’s air defenses.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s fall has seemingly turbocharged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman dreams.

James M. Dorsey discusses on Radio Islam International the enormous challenges Syria confronts in the wake of the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad.

US and Israeli responses to President Bashar al-Assad’s fall offer a masterclass on how to discourage change in Syria.

Rather than test and encourage Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, US and Israeli actions seem designed to box him in and potentially set him up for failure.

Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, appears to be a man who picks his battles.

Policymakers in Tehran and Moscow are asking who lost Syria in a tectonic rewrite of the Middle East’s geopolitical map that has ousted President Bashar al-Assad ‘s principal backers struggling to limit their losses.

Saudi Arabia has been awarded the men's 2034 World Cup.

It will be the crowning event in the kingdom’s sport spending spree, having already reportedly invested USD6.3 billion since 2021, as it tries to diversify away from oil.

James M. Dorsey discusses FIFA’s awarding of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia with Steve Lai on the BBC.

Saudi Arabia has been awarded the men's 2034 World Cup.

It will be the crowning event in its sport spending spree, having already reportedly invested £5bn since 2021, as it tries to diversify away from oil.

Niall Paterson is joined by Sky News' Rob Harris and Middle East football expert James M Dorsey to discuss what it means for football and the kingdom.

The plans are not lacking in ambition and include a new stadium 350m above ground level, in an as-yet unbuilt futuristic carless city.

But big questions remain about how the country landed the cup, with its bid unopposed and the country consistently facing claims of human rights abuses