Middle Orient

Hamas sent a formal response to the Israeli ceasefire proposal to international mediators on June 11. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad expressed “readiness to positively” engage in a deal, emphasizing Hamas’ primary demand for a permanent ceasefire.[i] Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Secretary General …

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board of governors has voted to censure Iran for the first time since November 2022. The United States joined its European partners in censuring Iran at the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, despite the Biden administration’s concerns that a formal rebuke of Tehran …

The top Turkish diplomat says his country explores new opportunities with BRICS Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend the China-led BRICS+ meeting in Russia next week as Turkey explores new cooperation opportunities. “While we have a customs union with the EU, we also explore new opportunities for cooperation with …

Israel’s war cabinet is set to convene Thursday evening to discuss the escalation in the north with Hezbollah. Israel’s war cabinet was set to convene Thursday, after a series of drone attacks targeting Upper Galilee region injured at least 11 people and as the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said …

A Strategy for Letting the Group Defeat Itself The war in Gaza has settled into a mind-numbing pattern of violence, bloodshed, and death. And everyone is losing—except Hamas. When Israel invaded the territory last fall, its stated military objective was to destroy the terrorist group so that it could never …

A Gaza hospital said at least 37 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a UN-run school on Thursday, that the Israeli military alleged housed a “Hamas compound”. The raid came after US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators resumed talks aimed at securing a truce and hostage-prisoner swap in the …

Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami threatened to retaliate against Israel for the June 3 airstrike that killed IRGC Quds Force Gen. Saeid Abyar in Aleppo, Syria.[i] Abyar was a member of the IRGC Quds Force and had been stationed in Syria since 2012.[ii] Salami stated …

The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has appealed to the Paris Judicial Court after charges against former Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Adib Mayaleh, related to financing battles in Syria were dropped. Mayaleh, who holds both French and Syrian citizenship, is suspected of financing the Syrian regime accused …

Over the past month, there has been a surge in attacks from Iraq against Israel attributed to the Islamic Resistance. This group consists of several militias backed by Iran, active in both Syria and Iraq, including existing U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations such as Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Hezbollah …

Iran has been backing its proxies, including Hezbollah and Hamas, in their fight against Israel since the Gaza war erupted. Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani pledged on Tuesday to maintain close relations with Syria during a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad amid escalating tensions in the region. Bagheri …