Middle Orient

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Iraq yesterday, the first time the Turkish leader has made the trip in over a decade, with a host of issues on the agenda including discussions related to counterterrorism, trade, water, and energy. At the top of the list of priorities is counterterrorism …

Iran’s April 14 missile and drone barrage against Israel demonstrated Iran’s growing strategic capabilities but also its limitations. Iran’s attack reassured its regional allies but also demonstrated that pro-Iranian factions closer to Israel’s borders perhaps pose a greater threat than Iran itself. The defeat of its missile and drone volleys …

The operational synergy between the Lebanese Army’s Intelligence Directorate and Syrian counterparts led to the capture of the three suspects in a border region shared by Syria and Lebanon. The Lebanese Intelligence Directorate, in collaboration with Syrian authorities, successfully apprehended the three Syrian individuals accountable for the abduction and subsequent …

North Press reported that the Syrian government forces appointed on Tuesday Suhail al-Hassan, as the commander of the 14th Special Forces Division in the Syrian government forces. Hassan was also assigned to be commander of the campaign against the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions aka the Syrian National Army (SNA) in …

Local sources told Sawt al-Asima that Israeli missiles struck a building occupied by regime army forces near Rawadi village. On Wednesday evening, the Israeli military targeted a structure housing regime army personnel in the rural area of Quneitra. Subsequently, aircraft dropped warning leaflets in the vicinity. Local sources reported that …

Public meetings between officials from Russia, Belarus, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Iran, and North Korea have surged in recent days, with at least 10 high-level bilateral meetings between April 22 and 26, underscoring the deepening multilateral partnership these states are constructing to confront the West. Russian Defense Minister …

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias appear divided on whether to resume attacks targeting US forces. Emirati state media reported that Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah (KH) is advocating for the resumption of attacks but that some militia leaders disagree with KH, citing unidentified Iraqi political and security sources.[i] Emirati state media furthermore …

By backing, arming and training Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, Iran launched a proxy war against Israel, leveraging the conflict in part to divert attention from its nuclear ambitions. The calculated move not only serves Iran’s immediate interests in destabilizing its adversaries – the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, …

Latest Developments Russia is ready to expand military and technical cooperation with Iran, the Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti reported on April 26. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart Gharaei Ashtiani discussed enhanced security ties during a meeting in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a …

Last week, European leaders agreed for the first time to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. By then, more than 34,000 Palestinians – two-thirds of them women and children – had been killed in Israel’s war, launched after Hamas’ deadly 7 October attack. Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and France constitute the …