Middle Orient

Once celebrated as a prime sanctuary for foreign investments in the Mediterranean, Turkish Cyprus has come under fire for allowing Israeli entities to purchase large swathes of property on the strategically significant island. ter obtained TRNC citizenship, have the right to unlimited property acquisition because they are officially registered as …

To understand what happened last night during Iran’s direct attack on Israel, one has to go back four years to the killing by the United States of Iran’s Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Iran needed to react symbolically in retaliation to save face and asked to do so. The United …

Latest Developments The Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets at Israel overnight between April 13 and April 14. The attacks, which came in tandem with Iran’s launch of hundreds of drones and missiles targeting the Jewish state, targeted an Israeli army base in the Golan Heights. …

The Israel–Hamas war has confirmed the ability of non-state actors, even more so than governments in some cases, to determine the course of events in the region. Unlike governments, regional non-state actors recognize few constraints on their behavior, in part because most militias, terrorist groups, and insurgent factions do not …

World Jerusalem Day rallies were held across Iran on April 5, 2024, like every year on the last Friday of Ramadan. This year’s rallies were marked by the war in the Gaza Strip and the attack attributed to Israel in Damascus on April 1, 2024. The rallies were attended by …

Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan has been rocked by a spate of deadly attacks targeting security forces in recent months. The attacks have been claimed by Jaish al-Adl, a Baluch separatist militant group that is believed to be operating out of neighboring Pakistan. On April 3, over a dozen militants …

Analysis: Turkey is seeking legitimisation for a possible large-scale operation in northern Iraq amid disagreements on water resources and oil exports. During a visit by a high-level Turkish delegation to Iraq last month, Baghdad announced a ban on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) – a significant gesture following months of …

In the intricate landscape of Iraqi politics, few figures have commanded as much attention and speculation as Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the influential leader of the Sadr movement. Recently, signs have emerged indicating al-Sadr’s return to the political forefront after a period of strategic withdrawal. Muqtada al-Sadr has a history …

Military news accounts reported on Sunday, April 9, that the Syrian regime appointed Major General Suhail al-Hassan as commander of the Special Forces, after he formerly commanded the 25th Division (affiliated with the regime and supported by Russia). No official announcement has been issued regarding the appointment, while discussions were …

Analysis: A landmark visit by a Hezbollah official to the UAE has led to speculation about the motivations for, and potential outcomes of, the rare trip. For many years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has considered Lebanon’s Hezbollah to be a nefarious organisation. Abu Dhabi has long seen Hezbollah as …