Middle Orient

It seems Hayat Tahrir al-Sham lost a loyal faction after several currents with the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham factions isolated the movement’s current leadership and appointed their own leader. Tension has grown in recent days between rival currents within Ahrar al-Sham, which is affiliated with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), …

The Afrin Liberation Forces, which has escalated attacks against the Turkish-backed opposition in the Aleppo countryside, is being secretive about the sources of its support, weapons and training. The Afrin Liberation Forces, a group of Kurdish fighters from Afrin also known as Hezen Rizgariya Efrine (HRE), recently stepped up their …

Revolutionary developments are afoot for strategic control of major trans-Middle East transport routes. Kuwait and Iraq are tussling over control of Gulf waterways, amid plans for a route from Faw port through to Turkiye, and progress on an Iraq-Iran rail link. The G20’s unveiling of plans for a major new …

As Iran’s ultimatum to Baghdad inches closer, the challenge of removing Kurdish separatist groups from their mutual border lies not in Baghdad’s will to cooperate, but in Iraqi Kurds’ secret collaboration with US/Israeli agents to keep them there. On 19 March, Iran signed a border security agreement with Iraq whereby …

Israeli continues striking Syria as part of its ‘war between wars’ with Damascus An Israeli air attack on the Syrian coastal city Tartous killed two Syrian soldiers and injured six more on 14 September, a Syrian military source told state media SANA. “[A]t 17:22 this afternoon, the Israeli enemy carried …

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 …