Middle Orient

Turkish intelligence operation eliminates senior PKK/YPG terrorist

A Turkish intelligence operation in northern Syria resulted in the elimination of a high-ranking PKK/YPG terrorist, security sources said on Saturday. Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) “neutralized” Haydar Demirel, code-named Bager Türk and the terror group’s so-called general manager of the Hol province in northern Syria, according to security sources …

Read More »

China’s Response to Türkiye’s Volatile Authoritarianism

China has become a global power, but there is too little debate about how this has happened and what it means. Many argue that China exports its developmental model and imposes it on other countries. But Chinese players also extend their influence by working through local actors and institutions while …

Read More »

Turkey’s Policies Are Unlikely To Change Even If Erdogan Goes – Analysis

The groups in the electoral fray are all a hodge-podge of ideologies. The only issue is whether Erdogan should stay or go. Turkiye held its Presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously on May 14. According to the Anadolu News Agency, at 6.30 am on Monday, sitting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was …

Read More »

Kurdish PUK party returns to cabinet meetings after boycott

One of the dominant Kurdish parties in northern Iraq on Sunday ended a more than half-year boycott of regional government cabinet meetings with its main coalition partner, easing tensions between factions that fought a civil war in the 1990s. The rifts had been a source of alarm to Western countries, …

Read More »

Syria’s main insurgent group seeks to move away from al-Qaida past, get off Western terrorism lists

The leader of an insurgent group that rules much of northwest Syria rose to notoriety over the past decade by claiming deadly bombings, threatening revenge against Western “crusader” forces and dispatching Islamist religious police to crack down on women deemed to be immodestly dressed. Today the man known as Abu …

Read More »

Iran: Replacing Khomeini with Clinton

In an editorial last Monday, Kayhan, believed to reflect the views of the “Supreme Guide”, claimed that now that the Islamic Republic has defeated the American “Great Satan” in the Middle East, it must deal with hyperinflation as “the greatest threat to our revolution.” The new tune may be partly …

Read More »

Israel under Fire and The West’s Pusillanimous Response

Neither Ukraine nor Israel has any territorial ambitions or aggressive intent against their attackers — both Ukraine and Israel are fighting purely defensive wars to protect their civilian populations. There is another common factor. Islamic Jihad in Gaza is an Iranian proxy terrorist group, funded and directed from Tehran. Iran’s …

Read More »

Iran, Egypt to Soon Restore Ties, Reopen Embassies

An Iranian lawmaker unveiled plans for the restoration of relations between Iran and Egypt, which are engaged in negotiation in Iraq, saying the embassies in Tehran and Cairo will reopen in the near future. In an interview with Tasnim, member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission …

Read More »

Iran To Participate In Increasing Capital Of Islamic Development Bank

Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi said, Iran as one of the major shareholders of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), is implementing new measures to participate in increasing the bank’s capital. Khandouzi made the remarks in a meeting with IsDB Chairman Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser on the sidelines …

Read More »

Turkey: Election Could Be Headed For Runoff

Turkey appeared headed for a runoff election after neither President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu received a majority of the vote on Sunday. However, Erdogan, 69, who has been in power for 20 years and is the country’s longest-serving leader, performed better than had been expected. With more …

Read More »