Middle Orient

Earlier on in his premiership, Benjamin Netanyahu touted Israel’s diplomatic inroads across the Global South, especially throughout Africa, where countries have traditionally taken pro-Palestinian stances. The Israeli prime minister’s visits to Argentina, Brazil, Chad, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, and Oman were important from this standpoint. So were visits to Jerusalem …

AnalysisMilitary analysts suggest the only bomb capable of piercing Iran’s targets would be the US-made GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator Israel lacks the capabilities to inflict major damage on Iran’s nuclear sites alone, but an escalation of the conflict could lead to US participation in attacks on Iran, analysts believe. Israeli …

As Israel continues to prepare its response to Iran’s missile barrage, one of the target sets could include Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, including striking weaponization facilities, fuel enrichment plants, and/or research and development laboratories.In the event of a significant strike on Iran, the Supreme Leader may opt to pursue nuclear deterrence …

A system set up to channel dollars from Iraqi oil sales to importers has been exploited by money launderers and militant groups for years. An OCCRP investigation shows how the fraud works in practice. Key Findings Al-Huda, an Iraqi bank whose owner was sanctioned after a drone attack on U.S. …

Israel has created a humanitarian crisis for over 2 million people, but communities have stepped up to help … for now. As the conflict in Lebanon has intensified, a large number of people, mostly from the Shiite community, have been forced out of their villages, towns, or neighborhoods. Some 2.1 …

Recent discussions between Turkey and the United States indicate that the Biden administration is actively pursuing Ankara’s reinstatement in the F-35 program. It is difficult to justify why Washington would want to arm Turkey with these highly advanced fighter jets, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes fervent measures to …

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas and other Gaza-based Palestinian armed groups launched a surprise attack on Israel’s southern border communities, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel retaliated by imposing a total closure of the territory and launching a massive air, sea, and land military campaign that, …

The assassination of Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, marks an inflection point that will redefine the security landscape of the Middle East. His deputy, Naim Qassem, has pledged “continued resistance,” claiming Hezbollah was steadfast and will not retreat, while Israel has pressed ahead with a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. The …

For nearly a year, the ongoing regional conflict, which started as a war between Israel and Hamas, seemed to contradict the old formula long thought to be one of the few certainties in global petroleum markets: that “war + Middle East = high oil prices.” While the conflict has taken …

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah spoke for the second time in seven days on August 6, commemorating one week since the assassination of the group’s military commander Fuad Shukr by Israel on July 30. Uncharacteristically calm, Nasrallah devoted much of his speech to covering the Lebanese group’s weaknesses exposed by the …