Middle Orient

In surprise trip to south of country, Najib Mikati meets UNIFIL chief, claims he seeks ‘to reaffirm peace-loving Lebanon’s respect for all legitimate international resolutions’ Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati reaffirmed on Tuesday Beirut’s commitment to a UN resolution that ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as cross-border …

Israel escalated airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, crushing families in the rubble of residential buildings, as health officials said hundreds of Palestinians were killed in the past day and medical facilities were shut down because of bomb damage and lack of power. The massive air bombardment continued through …

Two rockets landed inside Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. and other international forces west of Baghdad, two security sources told Reuters on Tuesday. One of the sources said the rockets were big, and the rocket launcher was found about 50 km southeast of the base. Ain al-Asad …

ISIS carried out at least 11 confirmed attacks in September in the Homs, Hama, Raqqa, and Deir Ez Zor governorates. These attacks killed at least 11 pro-Assad regime soldiers and seven civilians and wounded at least four additional soldiers and one civilian. There were also four high quality* attacks during …

The Islamic Republic took the opportunity of the regional summit to promote its anti-Western agenda by urging South Caucasus nations to reject “interference from extra-regional” powers. Tehran hosted a dialogue conference on Monday, known as the “3+3 format,” bringing together the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in an attempt …

The top Turkish diplomat, who met with the Emirati leaders in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, is set to travel to Qatar, where Hamas’ political bureau is based. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and will head to Qatar next as Ankara is seeking to …

The Turkish president’s speech on Wednesday aligned himself more firmly with the Sunni Muslim world, while pushing aside the benefits of closer ties with Israel and other regional economies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday ditched any semblance of neutrality in the Gaza conflict, saying that the Palestinian militant …

Interviews with faction leaders reveal anger with Hamas over starting a unilateral conflict, but also a determination to get involved if Hezbollah greenlights such a move and Israel invades Gaza. Iranian-backed Iraqi armed factions are unlikely to participate directly in the Israel-Hamas war as long as it is solely led …

Key points After 12 years of civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government has consolidated its power and defeated credible threats to its rule. The anti-Assad armed opposition, which once controlled half of Syria, is relegated to the northwestern province of Idlib.While the Biden administration recognizes that Assad will likely …

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group held talks on Wednesday in Beirut with senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad figures in a key meeting of three top anti-Israel militant groups amid the war raging in Gaza. In neighboring Syria, meanwhile, state media said an Israeli airstrike hit the international airport …