Bridge over Troubled Gulf Waters

High anxiety over Saudi-Iran rapprochement is unwarranted, says former CIA Middle East hand Douglas London

Mar 14, 2023

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THE RESTORATION OF DIPLOMATIC TIES BETWEEN IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA has garnered curious allusions of doom and gloom, if not outright shock and awe, over Israel’s back channel security dialogue with the Kingdom, not to mention damage to U.S. interests in the region. The New York Times captured it as “the topsiest and turviest of developments anyone could …

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A guest post by

Douglas London

Douglas London (@douglaslondon5) is author of “The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence.” He served 34 years with the CIA in the Middle East, South and Central Asia and Africa, including three assignments as a Chief of Station.