Eurasia

Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says

The Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign did not stop Tehran’s ambitions in the region, ODNI report suggests. Iran’s government is likely to continue to challenge Washington’s influence in the Middle East and pursue espionage within the United States in the coming years, according to an intelligence report newly released by …

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Russian FM’s visit to Egypt helps counter Erdogan’s regional moves

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Cairo is seen as a further cementing of increasing Russian-Egyptian ties and as a counterpoint to the Ukrainian president’s visit to Turkey. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a visit to …

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US, Turkish forces in Iraq targeted in separate attacks

A Turkish soldier was killed northeast of Mosul shortly after NATO and US officials announced they will withdraw from Afghanistan this year. Erbil International Airport in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region was hit by at least one explosion Wednesday night, Iraqi and US officials said.

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Ankara in risky geopolitical gamble in Black Sea

Fiddling with the delicate balance of power in the Black Sea might leave Turkey in a worse squeeze between Russia and the United States. Is Turkey on course to abandon its traditional balancing act between Russia and NATO in the Black Sea region? Ankara’s posture in the Ukraine-Russia standoff, coupled …

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Biden Announces End Of ‘America’s Longest War,’ Withdrawal From Afghanistan By September 11

President Joe Biden has announced his decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11 — 20 years to the day after the Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the United States that triggered the conflict. “It is time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said during a speech at …

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Bruised Borissov May Yet Prevail over Bulgaria’s Divided Opposition

With no clear route to a parliamentary majority following an election in Bulgaria, outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov may yet defy the odds. Post-election Bulgaria is fast starting to resemble an endless riddle of political ‘what-ifs’. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s path to a third term is strewn with obstacles after …

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Greek PM agrees to talks with Libya on maritime zones

Greece and Libya have agreed to hold talks on marking out their maritime zones in the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, after a meeting with the president of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi.

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Senior Iran official confirms ‘thousands of centrifuges damaged and destroyed’

Admission of scale of damage at Natanz casts doubts on Tehran’s ability to ramp up uranium enrichment to 60%, as threatened; Israeli report says whole plant still out of commission A senior Iranian official confirmed Tuesday that the blast at the Natanz nuclear facility, which Tehran blames on Israel, destroyed …

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Iran’s Rouhani says 60% enrichment is response to Israel’s ‘nuclear terrorism’

Iranian envoy to UN atomic agency says Islamic Republic will start enriching at previously unseen levels by next week Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Tehran’s decision to boost uranium enrichment to 60 percent was a response to Israel’s “nuclear terrorism,” three days after an attack on its Natanz …

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Turkey’s Challenge to the Regional Status Quo Begins in the Eastern Mediterranean

On July 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined thousands of worshippers in the streets around the historic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul for a doubly symbolic moment. Surrounded by a swarm of politicians, soldiers, security forces and imams, the Turkish leader made his way into the giant, former Byzantine cathedral …

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