Talek Harris

Gulf and Yemen bureau chief for AFP news agency. Views my own, or borrowed

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

It's finally over for @livgolf_league

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Everyone was wondering if Trump meant to say Iran instead of Oman. He didn't

[Department of State @StateDept]

PRESIDENT TRUMP: The Strait is going to be open to everybody. It’s international waters. We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it.

Oman will behave like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that.

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Today we bid a farewell to Boutique Office 12, Knowledge Village, AFP's home in Dubai for 23 years. Next up: an expanded Middle East hub in Media City

https://t.co/Dp4eQah9ts

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Saudi's PIF finally pulls the plug on LIV #golf. Spokesperson to AFP: 'The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy.'

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

A mural depicting the Hormuz crisis in Tehran, part of an excellent series by @AttaKenare @AFPphoto #IranWar‌

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Gulf countries move to counter low-flying drones as #Iran shifts tactics

[The National @TheNationalNews]

Ukraine-tested Shahed interceptors offered to Gulf states as Iran threat grows https://t.co/Q3ZGK5itQo

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Qatar shoots down 2 Iranian fighter jets and the Gulf really feels like a region on the brink now #Iran

[محمد الغيثي | Al Ghaithi @AlGhiithi]

وصلت بمعية الزملاء من عدن الى مدينة الرياض، وفي اجواء إيجابية سنبدأ سلسلة لقاءات للتهيئة لحوار جنوبي-جنوبي برعاية الاشقاء في المملكة العربية السعودية.

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

The US has approached Yemen's government about joining the international stabilisation force in Gaza, sources tell @AFP 's Sahar Al-Attar and @Haithamtabei

https://t.co/UhXHdSzPZr

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Hamas official to AFP: "The proposed weapons handover is out of the question and not negotiable." #Gaza #Hamas #Israel #ceasefireingaza

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Red Sea attacks are suddenly back. Cargo ship Eternity, damaged and stranded, under fire from suspected Huthi rebels since Monday, UKMTO says #Yemen

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Short attention spans, short memories: Pep Guardiola and the age of football amnesia https://t.co/Tk7hH9kqRf

[Hamidreza Azizi @HamidRezaAz]

A scenario for Iran’s response:

🔹Trump says Iran’s Fordow facility is gone. Other nuclear sites have been hit. Therefore, he effectively claims his objective, i.e., stopping Iran from getting nukes, is achieved.

🔹But here's the twist: Iran may NOT strike back at the U.S. at this point.

Why? Because Trump executed a rather limited strike. By avoiding broader escalation, he throws the ball into Iran’s court while telling Americans, “We didn’t start a war.”

🔹Iran, in response, could let Trump have this symbolic win and instead escalate only against Israel.

🔹This keeps Washington out of the war while intensifying pressure on Tel Aviv. The risk of drawing the U.S. further in would now rest on Trump’s next move.

🔹If Trump continues to strike Iran without new provocation, it looks more like going to war on Israel’s behalf. That’s politically costly, given domestic opposition to war with Iran.

🔹Meanwhile, Tehran could quietly shift its nuclear strategy.
Instead of announcing NPT withdrawal outright, it might say: “Due to wartime conditions, we don’t know what happened to some of our enriched uranium.”

Tehran may decide to leave NPT later. This creates strategic ambiguity, similar to what Israel has always done.

Iran wouldn’t need to test a bomb. Just the uncertainty could be enough to deter future attacks and complicate Western planning.

🔹This approach offers Iran:

🔺A way to delay direct confrontation with the U.S.
🔺A justification to step away from nuclear transparency.
🔺Leverage in any post-war negotiation.

🛑Bottom line: Trump may have scored a tactical win, but if Iran plays this smart, they hand him a political grenade.

All while shifting the nuclear game into murkier, more dangerous territory.

[Thomas Juneau @thomasjuneau]

Morality is not what will drive events (whatever you think is morally right). The balance of power will. And the balance of power is now heavily skewed against Iran.

[Yasmine Farouk ياسمين فاروق @YasFarouk]

👇 1 point of view I heard from a political scientist in the region: If the US comes in, it will be one strike, Fordo destroyed, the regime doesn’t capitulate, nuclear problem temporarily solved, as opposed to Israel’s goal of toppling z Islamic Republic &Trump can claim victory

[Arab News @arabnews]

@DXBMediaOffice @MBCGroup #VoxPops: Media leaders react to Arab News announcing it's fully AI produced podcast. Here's what @TalekHarris, @AFP Gulf & Yemen Bureau Chief said | https://t.co/rNbNJvKShQ

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

‘Talking’s done’ - Usyk and Fury faced off for a marathon 11 minutes as things got real in Riyadh https://t.co/JwpitFnRSk #FuryUsykII

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

After low-key open training session, Fury promises ‘a lot of hurt’ in Usyk rematch #FuryvUsyk

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

Judging from today's briefing, #Hamas future in Qatar is hanging in the balance. FM spox says their negotiators aren't in Doha but wouldn't say if they were told to leave. Wasn't clear if they can come and go. Office 'doesn't have any function' but not permanently closed

[Talek Harris @TalekHarris]

We are hiring. Seeking dynamic, ambitious, flexible team players to join our reporting staff in Dubai. We need one Arabic writer and one English writer - DM me if interested, trained news journalists only please