The use of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin spread throughout Lebanon like wildfire in the wake of the country’s financial collapse in 2019. Yet, many people, both Lebanese and in general, still do not know how digital currency works or whether or not they should use it. Martin Hockey, a graduate of the UCLA International Institute, will unpack Bitcoin’s potential in Lebanon and explain how the digital currency can be used.

Iran and Saudi Arabia made steady progress in their negotiations through four rounds of talks that took place throughout 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq, with foreign ministers from each party indicating that the conversations were constructive and could lead to a rapprochement.[1] As their dialogue continues and hopefully leads to mutually acceptable agreements, we consider the regional implications of improved relations between Tehran and Riyadh.

Many leading political theorists and experts in the MENA region have referred to the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia over the past few decades as a new Cold War in the Middle East.[1] Much like the United States and the Soviet Union during the second half of the twentieth century, Iran and Saudi Arabia have not directly engaged with one another in war but instead competed for spheres of influence and regional dominance using statecraft and proxy warfare in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. Tensions between the two great powers went through cycles of highs and lows over the past few decades, but turned sour in 2016 when Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Iran. This move came after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in response to the Saudi kingdom’s execution of revered Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.[2] Recent developments, however, caused the two powers to engage in dialogue with one another again, culminating in four rounds of productive negotiations on a range of issues thus far between each nation’s foreign minister.