Middle Orient

In keeping with its reputation as Hamas’s most vocal cheerleader on the international stage, Turkey has announced new measures to stifle Israel’s international trade. Specifically, Ankara will refuse to issue certificates for Israel-bound exports that would enable them to avoid certain steep customs duties. Having already declared a trade embargo …

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On February 11th, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met yet again with President Trump on his sixth visit since Trump resumed the presidency. It got me to wondering: why all these private meetings between the two leaders? What are they up to now? This time the meeting was about Iran, trying …

Officials keep channels open even as rhetoric expands targets and consequences, turning uncertainty into a strategic tool while publicly conditioning audiences for escalation Since the public protests that began in Iran in late December 2025, the confrontation between the United States and Iran has unfolded along two parallel and carefully …

The majority of Lebanese oppose peace with Israel, and elected officials who pursue normalization with the Jewish state risk political suicide. Nevertheless, popular rejection of peace does not justify censoring its proponents. The very purpose of open public debate is to allow minority positions to argue their case, sway doubters, …

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Have Been Friends and Allies for Decades, but They Have Picked Different Sides in the Fighting in Yemen Two gasoline Goliaths of the Persian Gulf are facing off, and neither of them is Iran — in fact, both are allies of the United …

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AYATOLLAH Ali Khamenei’s top crony has said Iran is “ready” for the doomsday scenario of sustained Trump-sanctioned strikes. The country’s leadership has been putting up a brave front as an armada and fleet of fighter jets – the biggest US military build-up in the region since the Iraq war – …

The amnesty decree issued by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on February 18 has sparked widespread debate among Syrian legal experts and human rights lawyers over its legality and constitutionality, particularly given that it was issued by a transitional authority. The controversy has intensified over the legitimacy of granting such a …

Iran-backed PIJ terror group’s flexible command structure and unfettered emphasis on armed conflict has helped it expand influence in the territory, deepening the challenge for Israel With Hamas constrained by a host of political and military factors, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the most prominent Palestinian terror group after Hamas, has upped …