The sudden unannounced arrival of the top US military officer General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a dusty American base in Syria’s remote northeast on Friday may call to mind a famous quote by Dick Cheney, vice-president in the George W Bush presidency: “The good …
Read More »An Enduring Challenge: ISIS-linked Foreigners in Türkiye
What’s new? Thousands of foreign nationals who joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq have crossed into Türkiye. Some have been deported. Others have stayed, with some still facing trial for terrorism-related charges and others nearing the end of their prison sentences. Their presence creates a humanitarian and security challenge for Türkiye, …
Read More »The Treacherous Triangle Of Syria, Iran, And Russia – Analysis
Both Russia and Iran have deep, multifaceted, and long-standing connections to Syria. During the Cold War, Damascus emerged as the Soviet Union’s most loyal Middle Eastern ally, and the relationship regained vibrancy in the 2000s as Vladimir Putin strove to reestablish Moscow’s regional preeminence. Meanwhile, the 1979 Iranian revolution reversed …
Read More »Containing Transnational Jihadists in Syria’s North West
What’s new? A three-year ceasefire in rebel-held Idlib has saved countless lives and allowed the main insurgent group, Hei’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), to redirect its efforts from fighting the regime to dismantling ISIS and other jihadist cells. Yet uncertainty regarding Türkiye’s Syria policy may threaten the relative peace and hamper humanitarian …
Read More »Netanyahu Can’t Have It All
To Protect Its National Security, Israel Will Need to Compromise These are trying times for the U.S.-Israeli relationship, which the U.S. government often defines as ironclad. Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to power as Israel’s prime minister in a governing coalition that is the country’s most right-wing and religious in history. …
Read More »Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin talks troop presence in surprise Iraq visit
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is playing a delicate balancing act with pro-Iran factions as Washington keeps a low profile for its military advisers in Iraq in order to subdue the Islamic State. More than eleven years after he led the last US battalions out of Iraq, US Defense Secretary …
Read More »Iran says it signed ‘aviation cooperation’ memo with UAE
The UAE and Iran have cordial economic and political relations, despite being on opposite sides of some regional rivalries. Iran and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Tuesday to work together more on aviation matters, Iranian state media reported. Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Jafar Yazarloo said they signed a …
Read More »Iran’s top diplomat to visit Turkey in post-disaster diplomacy
The top Iranian and Turkish diplomats are also expected to discuss the Syrian, Nagorno-Karabakh and bilateral files during their meeting. The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would pay a visit to Turkey in solidarity after the twin earthquakes. Amir-Abdollahian, who will travel to Turkey …
Read More »UAE unblocks several Qatar news sites as ties between two nations warm
Several Qatari-owned news websites had been inaccessible to UAE residents since relations worsened in 2016 over Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, but at least four are now unblocked. The United Arab Emirates appears to have unblocked a number of Qatari news websites after more than seven years of blocking …
Read More »Après la guerre, qui financera la reconstruction de la Syrie ?
La Russie et les États-Unis, la Turquie et l’Iran, la Chine et l’Union européenne : tous ont joué un rôle dans le conflit syrien. Mais vont-ils aider le pays à se reconstruire ? Le conflit qui dure depuis sept ans en Syrie n’est toujours pas résolu. Des millions de Syriens …
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