According to local sources, Iyad al-Saleh, also known as “Abu Haidar,” the head of the coordination unit of the Hezbollah militia, was killed when an explosive device detonated in his car. The explosion occurred near the automated fridge in the security square controlled by regime forces in Hassakeh, as reported …
Read More »Iran’s Dangerous New Terror Proxy: Sudan
Iran’s Encirclement of Israel, Control of Red Sea, Almost Complete “What makes the future in this case darker is Sudan’s history of hosting extremists and jihadists from the far right and far left. During the previous regime, Sudan hosted Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Carlos the …
Read More »Iran Changes Its Route, Not Its Destination – OpEd
The massive armada of 350 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, launched by Iran toward Israel in the early hours of April 14, marked a sea-change in the anti-Israel approach the Iranian regime has pursued since its foundation in 1979. Its anti-Israel policy was embedded in the broad strategy known originally …
Read More »Iran Update, May 3, 2024
The Houthi movement said it will expand targeting of maritime shipping into the Mediterranean Sea, which is probably part of an Iranian-led effort to impose an unofficial economic blockade on Israel. The Houthi movement announced on May 3 that it will begin targeting ships in the eastern Mediterranean that are …
Read More »Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war
Since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, journalists and media across the region have faced a hostile environment that has made reporting on the war exceptionally challenging. In addition to documenting the growing tally of journalists killed and injured, CPJ’s research has found multiple kinds of incidents of journalists …
Read More »What’s behind Turkey and Iraq’s ‘Development Road’ project?
Turkey and Iraq signed more than 20 agreements during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first visit to the neighbouring country in more than a decade. In statements after the visit, attention focused on the ambitious Development Road project, a highway and railway corridor stretching 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from the …
Read More »Israel lied about UNRWA. US and UK must end their dehumanising defunding of Palestinian aid
A recent UN investigation has determined that Israel has failed to provide evidence supporting its claim that employees of the United Nations Relief Work Agency (UNRWA) are members of Hamas and participated in the 7th October attack on Israel. In fact, the report concluded that UNRWA has one of the …
Read More »Evolving Middle Eastern imperatives on the Indo-Pakistan rivalry
It was no surprise to see the newly elected Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, choose Saudi Arabia as the destination of his first official visit within weeks of assuming power. What was more surprising, however, was the joint announcement that emerged from this two-day visit in early April, which not …
Read More »It’s time for Tehran to take a cold, hard look at its proxy strategy
The recent blow-for-blow strikes by Iran and Israel are bound to result in some introspection in Tehran, although this will not be immediately evident. For now, Iranian officials are seeking to show that the fusillade of drones and missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel on April 13 has reestablished …
Read More »The US and China in the Middle East: Three scenarios for 2050
Tensions between the United States and China are expanding beyond the Asia-Pacific region. The Middle East and North Africa is likely to be one of many venues in what might be a new Cold War between Washington and Beijing. We can imagine how Washington and Beijing’s respective global outlooks and …
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