Middle Orient

Assad Comes in From the Cold

His Rehabilitation Will Only Encourage More Brutality in Syria and Elsewhere After many years of equivocation and handwringing, Arab states have decided to bring Syria in from the cold and back into the fold. Arab foreign ministers announced earlier this month that Syria would be readmitted to the Arab League, …

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“Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah” Filmmaker on Showing the Impact of War on Humans

With the Iraq War underway, U.S. Marines were sent to clear out insurgents in the key strategic city of Fallujah in central Iraq in November 2004. The deaths of four U.S. contractors months earlier had sparked an outcry, becoming one of the triggers for a battle that would go on …

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Chabahar Port Transit Project: The Eastern Wing of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

The Chabahar Port Transit Project, is of great importance in the “International North–South Transport Corridor” (INSTC), because it is the only Iranian port with direct access to the Indian Ocean., writes Valdai Club expert Vali Kaleji. In his article, Dr. Vali Kaleji, a Tehran-based expert on Central Asia and Caucasian …

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Turkey’s Elections: Nationalist Identity Politics Wins Out Over Misery

There will be a second round for the presidential vote on May 28, but an opposition victory seems unlikely. Turkey is a country where average schooling is 6.5 years. In other words, the average person is a 7th grade drop-out. Ninety-five percent of Turkish citizens have never travelled abroad.

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What Assad’s Future Means for Justice and the West

The Arab League’s decision to readmit Syria rewards brutality and betrays victims. It also confirms the marginalization of the United States and the irrelevance of Europe in the region. A collection of Arab countries grouped in the Arab League has brought President Bashar al-Assad back into its fold. The twenty-two-member-strong …

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Iran claims to arrest an ‘Israel-linked cell’ on the border with Kurdish Iraq

Intelligence and Security Minister Esmail Khatib alleges the detained are Kurdish Iraqis cooperating with the Jewish state Iran’s Intelligence and Security Minister Esmail Khatib arrested a “terrorist” group, at the western border of Iran, on Sunday, for alleged ties to Israel, according to the semi-official Nour News agency. “A terrorist …

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Iran says ‘terrorist’ group linked to Israel has been arrested, Nour News reports

Iran’s intelligence minister said a “terrorist” group linked to Israel was arrested on the western borders of Iran on Sunday, according to the semi-official Nour News agency. “A terrorist group associated with the Zionist regime which entered the country from the western borders was arrested,” said Esmail Khatib. The statement …

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Turkish operations eliminate nearly 38,000 terrorists since 2015

Türkiye has eliminated more than 37,800 terrorists in the past eight years, according to National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. “Since July 24, 2015, a total of 37,860 terrorists have been neutralized,” Akar said on Sunday at a conference in Istanbul on the Syrian conflict and the fight against terrorism. Six …

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ISIS attack injures three SDF fighters in Deir ez-Zor

“At 12:10 AM on Saturday, one of our SDF patrols was attacked on Abu Khashab road, west of Deir Ezzor, resulting in injuring three of our fighters.” The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday said that three SDF fighters were injured in a suspected ISIS attack on Abu Khashab road, …

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