Zineb Riboua

Zineb Riboua, research fellow at the Hudson Institute who analyzes China and the Middle East. She discusses how the U.S.-Israeli campaign could undermine Chinese investments in Iran. She outlines China’s economic and energy ties, its shadow oil networks, and how regional leverage plays into great-power competition. She also covers strategic timing between Washington and Beijing and risks in the Strait of Hormuz.

In this discussion, Zineb Riboua, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute, brings her expertise on foreign policy and great power competition. She delves into Trump's use of tariffs as a foreign policy tool and challenges the notion of idealism in international relations, promoting a realist perspective akin to Henry Kissinger. Riboua also analyzes the Gaza crisis, U.S.-Russia relations amidst the Ukraine conflict, and geopolitical shifts in the Sahel, all while emphasizing the complex interplay of identity and cultural narratives in shaping policy.

In this insightful discussion, Zineb Riboua, a Hudson Institute research fellow, delves into the complex world of Zohran Mamdani and Third-Worldism. She explains how Mamdani, a product of the post-colonial landscape, reinterprets Marxism through an anti-colonial lens. Riboua explores the intellectual legacy of the Algerian Revolution and the strategic use of Islam in Mamdani's politics. The conversation further touches on the evolving role of decolonial narratives in U.S. politics and their potential to reshape global alliances.

Zineb Riboua, a Middle East expert and research fellow at the Hudson Institute, dives deep into the fraught relations between Iran and Israel. She discusses Israel's military strategies and objectives, questioning whether they can truly dismantle Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The conversation also explores Iran's internal vulnerabilities and miscalculations, as well as the role of the Trump administration in shaping these geopolitical dynamics. Riboua highlights Hezbollah's current stance and the psychological aspects of warfare that impact Iran's ambitions.

Zineb Riboua, a policy analyst at Hudson Institute and founder of the China in MENA Project, unpacks China’s strategic ties with Iran. She traces Chinese-built weapons, surveillance exports, and the 25-year pact. Short takes cover China’s use of Iran to shift U.S. influence, proxy networks like the Houthis, maritime disruption, and how recent operations aim to undercut that China–Iran axis.