Middle Orient

As we mourn the loss of Maronite Patriarch Emeritus Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, we are reminded of his legacy of being a courageous defender of the sovereignty of Lebanon in the face of Syrian occupation. It is striking that he passed at a moment when tensions between Iran and the United …

Iran may not like it, but the deal will transform a former fishing village in Oman into a key Middle East industry. The United States clinched a strategic port deal with Oman last week which US officials say will allow the US military better access the Gulf region and reduce …

Russian military police last week reportedly carried out a raid against Iranian-backed militiamen stationed at Syria’s Aleppo international airport, local media reported.

Analysis: U.S. sanctions on Iran are taking toll on its Lebanon-based proxy: fighters’ salaries are sliced, assets sold off and even prized Al-Manar TV station is laying off staff; meanwhile, the group itself has not escaped American scrutiny

The only consistency in the Trump administration’s Middle East policy has been to support autocratic regimes and strongmen, as it has in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.The Trump administration’s top national security officials met with Congress multiple times in May to discuss how the President interprets the threat posed by Iran.U.S. …

An Israeli airstrike on a Syrian anti-aircraft position near the Golan Heights Monday killed one soldier and wounded three, Syria said. Israel called the rocket strike on Tal al-Shaar retaliation for a Syrian missile fired at an Israeli military jet it said was a routine flight.

Iraqi military intelligence services arrested on Wednesday a senior Islamic State leader in the western province of Anbar. The Iraqi Military Intelligence Directorate, in a statement, said that its troops “arrested Abu Anas al-Samarei, the military adviser of an Islamic State commander, who was responsible for collecting weapons from citizens, …

Who are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the most powerful group in the last province held by rebels in Syria? The ongoing government offensive against the last rebel-held areas in northern Syria has once again put the spotlight on the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant faction in Idlib Province.

Even as the so-called Islamic State (IS) embarks on a new phase of global expansion, as evidenced by the recent Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, its jihadist rival Al Qaeda is enjoying a resurgence in the Syrian conflict theatre.

According to a second source, Iran and Syria already signed a protocol for the training of naval forces in Syria. Jorf News, a Syrian news site, reported that Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began a naval combat training course in Latakia province in northern Syria. Latakia is where Russia’s Khmeimim …