Middle Orient

For Israel, Qatar’s silence on a fatwa calling for “armed jihad” against the Jewish state is deafening. On April 9, Israel’s Foreign Ministry implored Doha to publicly reject the religious edict, which the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) issued on March 31. The fatwa instructs Muslim governments to …

Can Shara’s Government Unite a Country Ready to Explode? In late March, Ahmad al-Shara, Syria’s new leader, introduced a caretaker government that would supervise the country’s transition from five decades of dictatorial rule. He gave some cabinet positions to figures outside his Islamist milieu, including naming a Christian woman minister …

How to Turn Maximum Pressure Into Personal Diplomacy On Saturday, April 12, American and Iranian officials will restart talks over curbing Tehran’s nuclear program. The talks come after U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter, in early March, to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei proposing negotiations. “We have a very …

A Senior Iranian official threatened to reduce cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if external threats against Iran continue. Iranian Supreme Leader Adviser Ali Shamkhani stated on April 10 that Iran could expel IAEA inspectors, halt cooperation with the agency, or move enriched uranium to “safe and unknown …

The spectacular conquest of large parts of Syrian territory and cities such as Homs, Daraa, Aleppo, and Damascus, and the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government in early December, surprised the world. Syrian Islamists led by the organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) managed, after many years of being largely pushed into …

Iran condemned the continued IDF activity in the Gaza Strip. The Iranian president raised theissue in his talks with the King of Jordan and the Saudi Crown Prince. The Iranian ForeignMinistry spokesperson condemned the IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip and called forinternational action to stop them. The IRGC’s Qods …

US President Donald Trump surprised almost everyone when he announced in an Oval Office briefing — with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting right beside him — that high-level direct talks on Iran’s nuclear program were scheduled for April 12 in Oman. It is unclear whether Iran wanted to keep …

Turkey’s History of Hamas SupportBy Jonathan Schanzer Thousands of people rallied at Istanbul’s iconic Galata Bridge on New Year’s Day 2025 in support of the Palestinian cause and to protest Israel. Bilal Erdogan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son, was among its speakers. Bilal spoke of the “martyrs” of Palestine, including …

Regional diplomatic sources told CNN on April 6 that the Yemeni government is preparing for a ground offensive against the Houthis. The offensive would reportedly consist of advances from the south and east and along the western Yemeni coast to take Hudaydah.[1] The Yemeni government is led by the Presidential …

Après une nouvelle série de frappes américaines et israéliennes contre des positions pro-iraniennes, la situation dans la région a atteint un point critique. La Russie a mis en garde contre les conséquences catastrophiques d’éventuelles attaques contre les installations nucléaires iraniennes, alors que Téhéran a répondu en menaçant de frapper les …