The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan handed over his command at a ceremony in the capital of Kabul on Monday, as America winds down its 20-year military presence and Taliban insurgents continue to gain territory across the country. Gen. Scott Miller transfered authority to Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head …

Turkey is allegedly planning to use Syrian fighters in its proposed mission to guard and run Kabul’s airport, but this time recruitment is expected to proceed via private security firms. Turkey’s government appears to have learned little from the troubles it has faced for deploying Syrian fighters in the wars …

Businessman Yaqoub Abu al-Qia’an, who was briefly a Knesset candidate in right-wing Telem party, accused of providing information to Iranian intelligence via a contact in Lebanon A Bedouin Israeli millionaire who briefly ran for Knesset with former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon was charged on Monday with passing information to Iranian …

The country’s long journey of competing political visions begins in 1964, and right now, the future seems up for grabs. The Taliban are making rapid territorial gains in Afghanistan’s countryside while Afghan security forces coalesce around urban centers. But the only sustainable path that will bring peace is a political …

Over the last week, I have been watching the Taliban sweep across the map of northern Afghanistan, capturing places that I first visited in 2001 at the beginning of the US-backed war. Taliban fighters have seized the main bridge to Tajikistan on the Amu Darya, a river that I crossed …

Slovenia’s prime minister and other former US officials also speak at virtual event held by Mujahedeen-e-Khalq. Former Obama and Trump administration officials as well as Slovenia’s premier attended a Sunday event held by the controversial Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e Khalq, leading to criticism. The organization’s Free Iran 2021 World Summit …

The kingdom’s decision to ban the import of produce from the government-held areas is viewed as a sign that the kingdom has not changed its position toward the Syrian government. Speaking to the local Al-Watan newspaper July 6, Fayez Qassuma, vice president of the Export Committee in the Damascus Chamber …

The Iranian comments followed US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley’s pledge that the United States would not accept a partial deal that does not bring home all four detained Americans from Iran. Iran said Tuesday that negotiations are ongoing over a possible prisoner exchange with the United States as …

The kingdom diversification plan goes head-to-head with flag carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways, as intra-Gulf economic rivalries heat up on all fronts. Saudi Arabia plans to launch a second national airline “as soon as possible” to catapult the country into the fifth rank globally in air transit traffic, increase air …

The fire and lack of emergency response is endemic in the region as Turkish attacks routinely impact communities in Iraq’s north. A Turkish airstrike July 6 ignited agricultural fields of Assyrian villages in the Nahla Valley of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. As flames burned for hours at night …