Fuelling Saudi Arabia’s anger, Turkey sent additional troops to Qatar in December 2017, and the two countries signed an agreement in March 2018 to establish a naval base and training centre and to send 60,000 more soldiers. In response, Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) described Turkey as part of a “triangle of evil” along with Iran and hardline Islamist groups.

Erosion of middle class incomes, discontent with quality of life, the shortage of formal sector jobs, and corruption rather than poverty and income inequality were at the root of the protests. However, King Abdullah’s willingness and ability to implement change is being put to the test.

Alongside claims for justification from the Trump administration, similar rhetoric featured in statements from French and British leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron claimed there was no doubt Syria was responsible for a chemical attack on civilians, in gross violation of international law.

In any event, Yemen is clearly far more complex than a two-sided proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as it is often framed. It is a battleground where regional interests and historical divisions have converged, resulting in one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of our time.

With or without US participation in the nuclear deal, transatlantic cooperation remains desirable and possible. After all, the United States and Europe share the objectives of preventing Iran from becoming a nuclearweapon state, halting its development of long-range nuclear-capable missiles, encouraging adherence to human rights norms, and curbing its activities in the region.

The ruler, now 76, is ailing and has spent months at a time in Germany receiving cancer treatment. Nevertheless, Oman appears destined to maintain internal stability and its global reputation as a peacemaker. This is largely thanks to Qaboos who offered several concessions to protestors at the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011

The emirates boasted the 15th-highest military spending in the world. More telling, the UAE increased its arms imports by 63 per cent between 2012 and 2016. That trend will continue for as long as the emirates chases arms contracts and military alliances across the globe.

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.

Samah Hadid, the deputy director of Amnesty International, said that most human rights activists in the country were either in prison or on trial, their whereabouts still undisclosed. The others, she added, risk arrest at any time. MBS is clearly remaking Saudi Arabia in his image, while proving to be just as authoritarian as the rulers before him.

In 2014, a group of women from diverse political backgrounds pushed for political solutions instead of war. Since then they have been sidelined from peace negotiations – but that doesn’t mean that Yemeni women have lost all hope.