Middle Orient

What began as a localized political pact to help fix relations between Baghdad and Erbil has spiraled into renewed ethnic turmoil in Kirkuk and a resurgence of Kurdish independence aspirations. An agreement reached between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil to relocate the Iraqi army from its headquarters in Kirkuk …

In a significant move to combat the financing of Hezbollah, the US Treasury Department last week imposed terrorism sanctions on a family network spanning seven individuals and several businesses with ties to Lebanon and South America. Among those targeted was Amer Mohammed Akil Rada, a Lebanese man alleged to have …

Debates about the US commitment to Gulf security are skewed by confusion, miscommunication, and contradictory policies. The skewing has fuelled uncertainty about US policy as well as Gulf attitudes in an evolving multi-polar world and fuelled misconceptions and misunderstandings. The confusion is all the more disconcerting given that the fundamentals …

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s letter to Biden is aimed at jolting the administration into action as tensions rise between Erbil and Baghdad. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has appealed to President Joe Biden to intervene in a deepening crisis with the central government in Baghdad, airing …

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears trapped between security establishment advice to proceed with a Saudi deal plus concessions to the Palestinians and allied hardliners’ rejection of any compromise with Ramallah. While a path of escalating Palestinian attacks and tensions threatens to deteriorate into further violence with Israel, a path of …

The Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, is steadily shrinking. Water levels reached a critical low in 2022 and continue to fall by 6-7 centimeters per year, with some projections suggesting it could drop by as much as 9-18 meters by the end of the century. Although …

Years of simmering tensions between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and local populations in northeast Syria have exploded this week into still-expanding battles across much of Deir ez-Zor. The current violence was triggered by the SDF’s Aug. 27 arrest of Ahmed al-Khubayl (“Abu Khawla”), the emir of the Bakir tribe …

Les relations entre Ankara et Moscou défient les attentes occidentales : Il s’agit d’un modèle unique de coopération entre puissances régionales, fondé sur des intérêts mutuels, le respect et la reconnaissance des politiques étrangères indépendantes et de l’autonomie stratégique de chaque pays. Ce qui rend une relation de pouvoir intrigante …

Le secrétaire général de l’ONU, Antonio Guterres avait souligné sa «préoccupation extrême» face à l’utilisation d’enfants «soldats» par l’organisation terroriste. L’organisation terroriste PKK/YPG poursuit sa pratique de recrutement d’«enfants soldats» en Syrie, malgré le plan d’action signé par Ferhat Abdi Sahin, surnommé «Mazloum Abdi», l’un des soi-disant dirigeants du PKK/YPG, …

De la faillite programmée des États arabes et des illusions du fédéralisme Bien avant les dernières années de braises, nous n’avons cessé d’attirer l’attention sur les écrits de Zbigniew Brzeziński, Condoleezza Rice, Bernard Lewis et de plusieurs autres auteurs du même bord. Des écrits qui se résument à dire que …