Middle Orient

Why Trump’s Middle East strategy is not new – and may even be workingThe US/Israel war on Iran is described by some as impulsive, chaotic, and even irrational: a war that the US has already lost. This view might generate clicks, but it overlooks the deeper logic shaping American policy …

The optimism that President Trump projected last week toward securing a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has quickly faded, with Tehran on Monday suspending talks in protest of Israel’s punishing strikes on Lebanon. Trump sent varying messages as he scrambled Monday to secure a truce between …

At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this past Saturday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke about the “most consequential region in the world.” He was not talking about the Middle East, where the US-Iran conflict, now in its fourth month, has settled into a brittle ceasefire, as the Strait …

Trade statistics show why Amman has more reason than Damascus to welcome the improvement in bilateral commerce. Syria’s border with Jordan has long reflected the state of relations between the two neighbors. The border itself, delineated by France and Britain in October 1931, was tightly enforced only from 1970 onward, …

Pepe Escobar et moi-même avons reçu jeudi dernier le rapport de renseignement suivant, rédigé par une source bien informée ayant accès à ces informations. Je ne reproduirai pas l’intégralité du rapport, mais je tiens à mettre l’accent sur la question de savoir si l’Iran dispose actuellement d’une arme nucléaire ou …

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Key Takeaways The Iranian regime, which ISW-CTP continues to assess is dominated by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi and his inner circle, suspended US-Iran negotiations on June 1. Vahidi and his inner circle likely calculate that the status quo, in which Iran has neither made …

Yemen’s full-scale entry into the conflict could lead to the formation of a multi-layered and extensive front, which could increase pressure on the US and Israel, deprive the enemy of the initiative, and turn the conflict into a war of attrition. Ansar Allah as a Strategic Asset of Iran: Transnational …

Lebanon announced ​a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has ‌killed thousands of people and inflamed the broader U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. According to Lebanon’s embassy in Washington, the agreement would not end the conflict in …

Between April 26 and 30, 2026, the Egyptian military carried out in the Sinai Peninsula a joint live-fire exercise titled “Badr 2026.” The exercise – which involved Third Field Army ground forces, aerial forces and special forces units, and included neutralization of enemy capabilities and infiltration of enemy territory – …