Middle Orient

The U.S. and Israeli attacks last month on Iran to “obliterate” its nuclear program may have hit another target: Central Asia’s interests in accesses the large Iranian market and use Iran’s transport links to trade with the wider world. Iran’s “Look East” policy was launched by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in …

On May 14, President Donald Trump stood smiling with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and Syria’s self-declared leader, Ahmed al-Shara’a, on the sidelines of the President’s visit to Riyadh. After the get together, the President declared that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria and re-establish diplomatic …

The aftermath of Operation Midnight Hammer, a strike by the US Air Force on three nuclear facilities in Iran authorised by President Donald Trump on June 22, was raucous and triumphant. But that depended on what company you were keeping. The mission involved the bombing of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment …

Rafael Grossi, le directeur général de l’Agence international de l’Énergie atomique (AIEA) a permis que son agence soit instrumentalisée par les États-Unis et Israël – un État nucléaire non déclaré, en violation de longue date des règles de l’AIEA – pour fabriquer un prétexte leur permettant d’attaquer l’Iran, malgré que …

Ever since Israel launched its illegal war of aggression against Iran on 13 June, speculation has swirled around the role played by MOSAIC – a tool created by shadowy spy-tech firm Palantir. This software has been deeply embedded within the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) operations, particularly its “safeguarding” mission: …

Since the onset of the 21st century, Turkiye’s foreign policy agenda has shifted decisively eastward, charting a course through Central and South Asia. This transformation signals more than a revival of Ottoman-era influence. It reveals a layered geopolitical project anchored in Pan-Turanist nationalism, Muslim Brotherhood-aligned political Islam, and strategic deployment …

The Islamic Republic’s long-range missile doctrine is not just a tale of arsenal accumulation, but a four-decade transformation from survivalist improvisation to operational supremacy in the face of western and Israeli air dominance. Under a regional sky long dominated by US and Israeli air and intelligence superiority, Iran made a …

Israeli officials described the move as a resource-saving measure, but the result was intensified bombing of Gaza by jets returning from unrelated missions Israeli fighter pilots returning from air defense missions during the 12-day war with Iran were routinely authorized to unload their leftover munitions on the Gaza Strip, according …

As a tentative ceasefire holds between Iran and Israel, Baghdad digs in – asserting sovereignty, pushing back on airspace violations, and refusing to be the ignition point for renewed regional war. Refusing the leash: How Iraq shut its skies to Tel Aviv and held the line with WashingtonAs a tentative …

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 …