Country Risk Rating

The rapidly deteriorating security situation in Iraq is certain to diffuse recent tensions between Washington and Tehran. Indeed, according to Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, the... 2004-04-15

Although the Iraqi Interim Governing Council is officially committed to the maintenance of the state’s existing territorial boundaries, several leading politicians have... 2004-04-14

Human Rights Watch has criticised the government’s reported arrest of anti-torture activist Abdel Rauf al-Shayef, head of the Committee of Martyrs and Torture Victims, an... 2004-04-14

Militant violence is continuing and this is unlikely to end in the short term. In mid-April militants killed four Saudi policemen at a checkpoint near Riyadh. The killings came shortly... 2004-04-14

The US embassy in Abu Dhabi closed temporarily in late March after it received a ‘specific threat’ against it. This was the first time that US interests in the... 2004-04-13

Sultan Qaboos has appointed the government's first female minister, Rawya bint Saud al-Bousaidi, the new Minister for Higher Education, in a a positive signal for women's rights.... 2004-03-17

Several recent arrests of suspected militants have boosted the credibility of the government’s security operations, presenting an upside risk to its crackdown on extremists.... 2004-03-16

Although there is a serious risk that oil prices will fall in Q2 as the end of the northern hemisphere’s winter results in lower overall demand, pressure on OPEC from oil... 2004-03-16

Although there is a serious risk that oil prices will fall in Q2 as the end of the northern hemisphere's winter results in lower overall demand, there is pressure on OPEC from oil... 2004-03-15

As was expected, the conservatives made considerable gains in parliamentary elections held in February. Since then the hardliners have asserted their position of dominance in the... 2004-03-15