ACROSS
1 Spin out, as 192 countries take a covetous look back (6)
4 Reps hoot rudely for Jordan, once (8)
9 Fisherman’s rage when taking Lebanon’s premier hostage (6)
10 Libels leaderless residents of Comoros, say (8)
12 Djibouti’s opening lofty type of farm (5)
13 Arab chief invested in offense or protective layer (9)
15 Symbols of power upset Algeria (7)
17 Record niece shattered, blurring the sexes (7)
18 Florida city’s gold to secure Morocco, at last (7)
20 Need to assume Noah’s craft returned for rodent (7)
22 A crazy retrospective: stage located in a Middle Eastern capital—like the 2008 summit of the Arab League (all of whose members are here) (9)
23 First portion in Bahrain: cod with flashy trimmings (5)
25 Shockingly, go in for second slates, e.g. (8)
27 In Qatar, are lyricists found? Seldom (6)
28 Flexible Sudanese ballerina (8)
29 Bush’s backing up in Israel—try Mauritania (6)
DOWN
1 It helps make Saudi…(2,3)
2 …chains from ring’s elements (7)
3 Yemen breaking up opponent (5)
5 The actual origins of Operation Iraqi Liberty? (3)
6 Palestine suffering punishments… (9)
7 …from violent settler frame (7)
8 Republican man concealing deception on the rise—and on the rise again (9)
11 Rig up a single Jerusalem artichoke (8)
14 Unstable Emirates getting hotter (8)
15 Called for more supplies, like Yasir’s letters in Syria (9)
16 Kuwait and Somalia, for instance, top Europe at first in spectacular victory (9)
19 Oman, PLO skewered in satire (7)
21 Airmen flying to Tunisia’s capital for clothing (7)
23 Roll all over Libya (5)
24 Egypt in turmoil, like the sun (1-4)
26 Hoisting flag is what we need, in huge amounts (3)
ACROSS 1 TRAIN + OF + TH[e] + OUGHT 9 FL + OUNCE 10 G-ELATIN[g] 11 FOOT + BALL + CO + ACH 13 LIB + I DO 15 HA + R(D)TACK (track anag.) 17 anag. 19 hidden 22 BUS ONE’S + DI + SHE’S (bonuses anag.) 25 LO + NG AGO (a gong anag.) 26 2 defs. 27 ate both anag.
DOWN 1 TUFT[s] 2 A + LOOF (rev.) 3 NO + NWORD (rev.) 4 “flue buy” 5 H + EGELIAN (lineage anag.) 6 UN + LACED (rev.) 7 2 defs. 8 anag. 12 2 defs. 14 anag. 16 anag. 18 DEN + MARK 20 “yacht Z” 21 MI(SF + I)T 23 rev. 24 2 defs.
Joshua Kosman and Henri PicciottoJoshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto are The Nation’s puzzlers. To read more about Kosman, click here. To read more about Picciotto, click here. Kosman and Picciotto explain what they’re up to in “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Crosswords” (also available as a PDF). Check out The Nation’s Current Issue page each week for the latest puzzle.