Clearly, China would prefer to continue to increase its clout in the Middle East via the soft power channels of economics and trade. Yet as the region becomes increasingly divided and combustible, it may have a difficult time avoiding being sucked into the many interlocking conflicts.

If The Arab League is to undergo a transformation for the better, it can only happen under two conditions. The Arab League must act collectively to override the influence of its most dominant members while resisting foreign pressure.

It appears that the EU has financed Sudan’s repressive security services indirectly. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which receives a good portion of the money from the EU to combat smugglers and traffickers, has admitted to providing motorbikes to Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS). The NSS is known for hunting down Sudanese political suspects both in and outside the country.

President Hassan Rouhani said citizens have the right to protest but that Trump “has no right to sympathize with Iranians”. He added, “This man in America who is sympathizing today with our people has forgotten that he called the Iranian nation terrorists a few months ago. This man who is against the Iranian nation to his core has no right to sympathize with Iranians.”

If the Trump administration follows through on its threats, it could mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the United States (US) that goes to education, health care and food aid for Palestinian refugees via the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) which is already on shaky financial ground.

Foremost among the consequences is a growing sense that the Saudis, along with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, are now pursuing de facto normalization with Israel by means of closer security and political coordination to contain the growing Iranian threat. But while the Arabs have remained tight-lipped on the matter, the Israelis have been speaking about it publicly.

Indeed, the Trump factor is giving hardliners an ideal platform to enforce the anti-American views they have championed for four decades. Even if the current tensions between the two countries do not result in military confrontation, the shifting political dynamics and social attitudes brought about by Trump are likely to have consequences for years to come.

The mounting pressure from Washington has contributed to a hardening of Iranian attitudes towards the US, setting the stage for more instability in the region, if not direct confrontation.

In an article published on Vocativ in December 2013, the most halal, ‘is determined by the availability of halal food, prayer direction indicated in room, whether they serve alcohol, and if there is a hand shower or bidet in bathroom (for ablution before prayer).

In an article published on Vocativ in December 2013, the most halal, ‘is determined by the availability of halal food, prayer direction indicated in room, whether they serve alcohol, and if there is a hand shower or bidet in bathroom (for ablution before prayer).