Saudi Arabia is taking a "soft power" jab at its regional rival Iran this week — a news website in Farsi, the language of Iran. It launches Thursday and the Saudi government expects to eventually start a Farsi-language TV channel as well. The step into soft power is new for the wealthy Kingdom, more known for opening its checkbook to gain influence.

In its trumpeting of Britain’s global “soft power” influence, the government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) unveiled on Monday contains a glaring contradiction. [...] Twenty pages on, the document says the UK will continue to work with close allies, including “vital partners, such as Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East”. 

At face value, Qatar’s engagement with the world is impressive. Doha has not only cultivated a strong alliance with the United States as the host of U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) and extended overtures to Israel, but until recently the tiny emirate truly also competed with its larger neighbor—the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—for a dominant role in the Sunni Arab world.

ISIS and other terrorist organizations which kill and commit barbaric acts against innocent Muslims and non-Muslims alike continue to be the worst enemies of Islam. [...] It is evident that terrorist groups are determined to target our youth and use them to further their own political agendas. Sadly they have been very active while many of our imams and parents have failed to recognize the extent of their threat.

The nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers is "an opening for further diplomatic endeavors" to resolve the conflicts in the Middle East, the German foreign minister said in Tehran Saturday.

Germany will be the guest of honor at the 30th Janadriyah festival starting Feb. 3, at the Al-Janadriyah heritage village located on the outskirts of Riyadh. “It is a great honor for Germany to have been chosen as the guest country for the upcoming 30th edition of the festival. It is a major recognition of the excellent state of our bilateral relations to have been chosen as special Guest for the most outstanding cultural heritage festival in Saudi Arabia,” said a senior diplomat.

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, spoke recently at a press conference in Berlin on the case of Raef Badawi, a Saudi blogger who has been sentenced to ten years in jail for creating a website that promotes liberal discussion. Badawi’s case, said Al-Jubeir, is an internal issue for Saudi Arabia, who will not accept any outside interference in its judiciary and internal affairs.