Middle Orient

At the NATO Summit that was held last week in Vilnius, the capital of the Baltic state of Lithuania, the agenda was dominated by the Ukraine war and Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised NATO by announcing before his departure for Vilnius that he …

On July 4, Iran officially became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during a virtual summit hosted by India for the SCO Heads of State Council (Shargh Daily, July 4). Iran initially joined as an “observer member without voting rights” at the July 2005 summit in Astana …

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s leaders gathered this week for a major summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Of course, the main focus was on Ukraine, and a new NATO-Ukraine Council was established to help boost cooperation. The alliance also agreed that Ukraine will someday join the club. To the disappointment of …

Analysis: While Saudi demands for US weapons and nuclear energy are real, Riyadh is also likely testing the water to see what’s possible in Washington as the costs of normalising ties with Israel still far outweigh the benefits. Last month, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US Princess …

On June 21, 2023, the Old Hebron Museum opened an exhibition named “Keys,” featuring keys to the homes of Palestinians who were expelled from them in 1948. The exhibition, which was open to the public until June 26, was initiated and curated by the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC),[1] an organization …

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant noted that his visit to Baku brings cooperation between the two countries to a new and unprecedented level. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that his two-day visit to Azerbaijan brings cooperation between the two countries to a new level in security, intelligence …

In line with its founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s vision, Turkey had historically positioned itself as a part of the Europe. Erdogan’s unexpected push may lead to some progress in certain avenues, experts and observers believe. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s surprising push to revamp his country’s stalled European Union …

Iran was enraged by the Italian Senate Foreign Relations Committee after it hosted the leader of an opposition group that has been seeking regime change in Tehran for decades. The Italian ambassador in Tehran, Giuseppe Perrone, was summoned by Iran’s Foreign Ministry late Wednesday, to object to Rome hosting earlier …

IDF seniors warn that Hezbollah is becoming bolder and bolder, increasingly attempting to infiltrate Israeli territories and to provoke incidents with Israel. Israeli security officials are concerned over increased boldness on the part of Hezbollah in recent weeks, with several attempts by its members to infiltrate into Israeli territories. In …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talks about an “evil West” but wants to become part of it — perhaps to “improve” it? Erdoğan needs money. He needs it now, and preferably from Western markets instead of one-off cash injections from Russia and friendly Gulf states. Erdoğan aims to… [k]eep within …