Ananta Insights | A Geopolitical History of Persian Gulf | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | May 2026
The global attention is currently riveted on the current double impasse over the Persian Gulf at its Strait of Hormuz choke point. Although the ongoing US-Iran conflict has its unique drivers and context, the Persian Gulf has a five-millennia-long history of geopolitical jostling among the concerned stakeholders, including the first Western capture of the Strait […]
Ananta Insights | Middle East’s Other War: Israel – Hezbollah Scrimmage | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | March 2026
While the global attention is currently riveted on the war being waged by Israel and the United States against Iran, the Middle East is also facing an equally vicious, no-holds-barred conflict between the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and the Hezbollah militia of Lebanon. While the second conflict is seen by some as a corollary of […]
Ananta Insights | Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland: A Backgrounder | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | February 2026
Introduction: Somalia and its proto-statelets, viz. Somaliland and Puntland have been sporadically in the news over the past 35 years – mostly for the wrong reasons. They have faced protracted political instability and uncertainty, recurring famines, scourges such as terror and piracy, as well as underdevelopment and misgovernance. 2. Geopolitical Importance of Somalia: […]
Ananta Insights | Riyadh- Abu Dhabi Rupture: Seven Decades of Recurring Frictions | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | January 2026
The Latest Incident: On December 30 2025, the Saudi Air Force bombed two Emirati ships unloading military hardware at Mukalla port in Hadhramaut province in southern Yemen (please see Map 1 below). The cargo was apparently destined for the forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist militia supported by the UAE, although the […]
Ananta Insights | The New US National Security Strategy: Implications for the WANA Region | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | December 2025
Introduction: A month ago, the White House unveiled a new National Security Strategy (NSS). This 33-page document formally encapsulates, for the first time during Donald Trump’s presidency, a vision for Washington’s foreign policy in general and security doctrine, in particular. During the first 11 months of his second presidency, Trump has pursued a highly personalised […]
Ananta Insights | UNSCR 2797 Nudges Western Sahara Dispute Towards a Solution| | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | November 2025
On October 31 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution on the Western Sahara, creating a pathway based on Morocco’s autonomy initiative of 2007 to begin negotiations for a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution to this half-century-old decolonisation dispute. It was passed with 11 votes in favour, Russia, China and […]
Ananta Insights | GAZA: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Fall | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | October 2025
LWhile it was no mean feat for US President Trump to effect the first phase of his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, most observers believe that the more difficult parts are yet to follow. The following are annexed: Annex 1: Indicative map of Israeli Defence Force’s withdrawal under Trump Peace Plan; Annex 2: A Table […]
Ananta Insights | Abraham Accords @5: Stuck at Cross Roads | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | September 2025
September 15 2025, marked the fifth anniversary of the ceremonial signing of the Abraham Accords at the Trump 1.0 White House, normalising the ties between Israel and each of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. It gave second wind to the hopes for regional reconciliation as a similar previous rapprochement between Israel and each […]
Ananta Insights | Middle East and Current Geo-Economics of Oil | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | August 2025
Introduction: Being the largest source of crude, the Middle East region has had a strong symbiotic relationship with it. This correlation, however, appears to have slackened off late: although both crude and the Middle East have been buffeted by strong turbulences in recent months for their respective reasons, these tendencies have remained largely mutually exclusive. […]
Ananta Insights | Arab Unity: A Desert Mirage? by Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | July 2025
Introduction: A persistent social mythology about the swathe of twenty-two Arab countries[1] stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf is about their manifest “unity.” The emotive argument cites many commonalities among 473 million Arabs: they speak dialects of the same Arabic language, subscribe mostly to the same religion (Islam), and have a shared history of often facing […]