Middle Orient

An estimated 2,000 Islamic State (ISIS) militants remain active in Syria’s vast desert regions, a spokesperson for a faction aligned with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned in an interview with Rudaw, highlighting the group’s ongoing efforts to regroup. The US-backed SDF serves as the de facto army of …

L’Iran se tourne à nouveau vers son partenaire historique : la Chine. Durant l’Antiquité, la capitale perse de Persépolis était ornée de statues chinoises, tandis que le farsi s’était imposé à la place du mandarin le long de la Route de la soie. Aujourd’hui Téhéran achète des avions de chasse …

US officials told Western media that Iranian officials said in intercepted communications that the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program were “less devastating” than anticipated, which is inconsistent with previous open-source reporting and the nature of the strikes.[1] Four unspecified US officials familiar with US intelligence said that the intercepted …

“Our churches are our homes,” says Mark, 26, standing amid the shattered glass and blackened walls of the St. Elias Church. “We were raised in these churches, but there are children who will never be able to grow up here as we did.” He speaks softly, his voice barely heard …

“NO DEPARTURES AND ARR DUE AIRSPACE RESTRICTION UNTIL FURTHER ADVISE” This was the message received at 3.30 pm GMT on Monday via ACARS (satellite messaging) by hundreds of airliners in the vicinity of Qatari airspace. Speculation had mounted since 12.20 pm GMT when a NOTAM announced that Al Udeid Air …

On 13 June, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a preemptive military campaign aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear capabilities. But with symbolic references to the pre-1979 monarchy embedded in the operation’s name, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly appealing to the Iranian people to “rise up,” observers believed that the …

For decades, preparations simmered. Covert and overt operations, escalating rhetoric, and mutual threats have long defined the standoff between the so-called Iranian axis and Israel. Capitalising on the 7 October attacks by Hamas-led militants, Tel Aviv chose to cut to the chase, launching successive strikes against Iran’s allies and finally …

Operation Midnight Hammer represented an extraordinary demonstration of American military capabilities. Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers targeted Iran’s nuclear installations at Fordow and Natanz with fourteen 30,000-pound bombs while a guided missile submarine simultaneously launched more than two dozen cruise missiles at Isfahan, Iran’s largest nuclear research complex. The strikes …

Latest Developments Fatwa Issued: Iran’s top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against President Donald Trump on June 29, calling on “Muslims of the world” to assassinate the U.S. leader. The fatwa was released by Shirazi’s office and published by several Iranian state …

Eye witnesses to an Israeli massacre believe British intelligence contributed to the slaughter. The smell of blood and smoke still lingers in the memory of those who lived through the Nuseirat massacre in the heart of the Gaza Strip. One year has passed since the slaughter on 8 June 2024, …