Middle Orient

The Balkans presents a crucial junction for Tehran as an access point to Western Europe and an avenue for advancing its regional political and economic interests. The Balkan region is strategically important for western countries as a geographic bloc through which they can increase their influence in former Soviet Eastern …

Abstract: Once allies in the same organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Islamic State have an interesting history that turned them into ‘frenemies’ from April 2013 to February 2014 and then outright enemies over the past nine years. This led to a broader global fight between al-Qaida and the …

Iraqi forces have tracked down and targeted ISIS remnants in their hideouts during a series of operations in provinces across the country. Iraqi forces have been tracking down and killing key leaders of the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) in a series of operations targeting the group’s remnants …

Iran has vowed to cooperate with the UN’s nuclear watchdog to resolve outstanding issues after inspections reportedly showed that Tehran had enriched uranium to near nuclear-weapons grade, a joint statement from both sides said. “Iran expressed its readiness to…provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues,” a …

“U.S. support for demonstrations in Tel Aviv isn’t about the future of Israel’s judiciary. It’s about handcuffing Israel while Iran gets the bomb.” — Lee Smith, Tablet Magazine, March 2, 2023. In reality, Iran’s mullahs will most likely blackmail the Biden Administration for billions of dollars not to use their …

An ISIS leader was killed and another captured during joint helicopter raids in Syria, following deadly attacks on truffle hunters in the desert. Helicopter-borne US troops working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday (February 18) captured an “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) provincial official in Syria, …

The catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey earlier this month has put mounting pressure on embattled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of key presidential and parliamentary elections due to be held on May 14. It has also served to spotlight Erdogan’s problematically close ties with Moscow. As Erdogan is one …

Even as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels pursue back-channel talks with Saudi Arabia as Riyadh looks for a major de-escalation in the coming weeks, they have also been ratcheting up the pressure on the internationally recognized Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG). On Feb. 16, 2023, the ambassadors of the United States, …

Deep in the world’s oceans and seas lies a network of submarine communication cables connecting continents and regions. This critical infrastructure, owned mostly by international consortia of private telecommunication companies, spans, in total, more than 1.3 million kilometers and handles over 95% of the world’s data. The rise of projects …

According to the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world has already warmed by around 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial times and will likely approach 1.5°C within the next two decades. Every corner of our planet has already experienced the impacts of climate change, …