Middle Orient

Turkey said its latest ban is in response to “the intensification of activities by the PKK terrorist organization in Sulaimaniyah.” Turkey on Monday extended a flight ban to Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sulaimaniyah International Airport for six months, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials confirmed, in a move that will further squeeze the …

In an apparent jab at Sweden and the United States, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country wouldn’t cave to “veiled threats.” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amped up the rhetoric against Stockholm on Monday with merely days left before the critical meeting between Turkish, NATO and Swedish officials over …

The League of Arab States welcomed President Bashar al-Assad to its May summit, reinstating Syria’s membership, which it had suspended in 2011. The regime may look to have shrugged off the international opprobrium it earned for its brutality in repressing its opponents. But has it? When Arab countries admitted Syria …

West Asia (the Middle East), known in contemporary history as a region in perpetual geopolitical flux has recently been home to some of the most significant diplomatic rapprochements. To begin with, the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, brokered by China, normalised relations between Riyadh and Tehran— …

In Istanbul, Tajik citizen Shamil Hukumatov, one of the leaders of the Khorasan cell of the Islamic State (IS-Khorasan) group, was arrested. Turkish media on June 22 reported that Hukumatov, also known as “Abu Miskin.” engaged in the recruitment of new militants for IG-Khorasan. Shamil Hukumatov was detained on Thursday …

The PKK’s recruitment of new members from Europe is under the spotlight again as a man who surrendered reveals that he joined the terrorist group in France and stayed in a Greek camp before being enrolled in their bloody campaign in northern Iraq Confessions of a PKK terrorist who chose …

The Iraqi forces in Kirkuk on Sunday announced that they had killed five suspected ISIS militants in an operation, according to a press release. Wearing “explosive belts”, three members of the group were killed in the Turkalan area in southwestern Kirkuk by the Iraqi Army’s Eighth Division soldiers, a statement …

Prigozhin’s political and financial future remains uncertain as he seeks exile in Belarus, Iyad el-Jaafara writes. During the tense hours of anticipation, analysts closely monitored the developments surrounding Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion against the Russian Ministry of Defense. There were discussions about the possibility of this uprising extending into Syrian territory, …

Muslim countries refused to be satellites of WashingtonThe territory of the Middle East (from Western Asia to North Africa) has always attracted foreign powers. First, the region is the main source of hydrocarbon production, primarily oil. Secondly, it is the center of the logistics system for transporting energy resources. Suffice …

The Palestinian Authority expressed concern on Monday about Russia’s recent decision to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki warned that the move could set a precedent for other countries, during a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to the PA Gocha Boachidze, in Ramallah, the ministry …