Erdogan also said he stands behind a peaceful resolution to the violence in Tigray. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered Thursday to mediate a bloody border dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan. Speaking alongside Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed following their meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan also said his government supports …
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Turkish airstrike kills members of US-backed Kurdish force in Syria
A Turkish airstrike has killed four members of a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force. Four members of a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force were killed in a Turkish air attack on the town of Tal Tamar Thursday, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces, part of an escalating multi-pronged campaign against Kurdish militants …
Read More »Hossein Amirabdollahian: A Quds Force favorite becomes Iran’s new foreign minister (Part 2)
Due to his divergent views on Iran’s international and regional policies, Hossein Amirabdollahian had various disagreements with then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif while serving as deputy foreign minister beginning in 2011, and these ultimately led to his removal from the post in June 2016. The official reason announced for the …
Read More »Russia and the GERD: An uneasy balancing act
Since late June, Russia has expanded its diplomatic involvement in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. On June 23, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed their joint support for a resolution of the GERD dispute led by the …
Read More »Hossein Amirabdollahian: A Quds Force favorite becomes Iran’s new foreign minister (Part 1)
Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran’s new foreign minister, is famous for his exceptionally close relationship with the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as its regional allies. Mr. Amirabdollahian, born in 1964, holds a PhD in international relations from the University of Tehran. …
Read More »What’s next in Afghanistan? The prospects for future political violence
As the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban pushed through large portions of the country, capturing strategic regional centers and ultimately securing the capital city of Kabul. In its pursuit, the Taliban faced relatively little resistance as it seized government strongholds. Rather than widespread fighting, reports indicate that Taliban …
Read More »Hezbollah, America, and the race to supply Lebanon with power
Amid typical governmental absenteeism, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced on Aug. 19 that the party had secured fuel shipments from Iran. He asserted that the first of many fuel tankers would set sail to Lebanon that same day. Hours later, U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea declared that the U.S. …
Read More »Israel and Egypt top growth expectations in MENA: A tale of two divergent strategies
The two countries in the Middle East with the highest growth expectations for 2022 are Israel and Egypt. Fitch Solutions estimates that MENA-wide GDP will grow by 3.6% in 2021, after a contraction of 4% in 2020. Egypt and Israel are the only countries within the region expected to grow …
Read More »The race to reset the Middle East’s maritime map
One of the most consequential changes in the Middle East’s geopolitical map is happening at the water’s edge. Along the entire eastern rim of the Mediterranean basin, global and regional actors are engaging in a spate of port capacity expansions, new private port construction, and the sell-off of major state-owned …
Read More »A view from the Hill: Congressional actions targeting MENA, April-June 2021
Introduction Six months into the 117th Congress, legislators continued to grapple with the complexities of a region in the midst of change. The reasons for this phenomenon were myriad. The Biden administration espoused a divergent worldview from that of its predecessor, the balance of power in Congress shifted, the international …
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