Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Research Fellow, Baker Institute
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is a fellow with the Center for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

Research Fellow, Baker Institute
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is a fellow with the Center for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
On his tour of Iran’s Arab neighbors, US president Donald Trump lashed out at Tehran while hinting a deal was close—warning and wooing at once, and raising as many questions as he answered about the prospects of his transactional diplomacy.
If US President Donald Trump’s shock announcement in the Oval Office on Wednesday that his administration was due to hold talks with Iran this weekend was a surprise, the choice of Oman as host was not.
As conflict between Tehran and Washington escalates and war lowers over the horizon, "de-risking" has become a mantra in Arab capitals astride the Persian Gulf.