Middle Orient

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake was felt most strongly in Turkey and Syria, but reached as far as Iraq, Egypt and other countries in the region. Turkey has appealed for international help for rescue efforts. Two massive earthquakes hit Turkey’s southern region on Monday leaving more than 5,000 people dead in …

The mood of the public could very well shift against Erdogan and the AKP if their response to the earthquake is not swift. The full extent of Monday’s massive earthquakes that ripped through southern Turkey and neighboring provinces in Syria won’t be known anytime soon. Seismologists say they are the …

How Months of Protest Forged an Even More Intransigent Regime Over the past five months, a wave of protests has rocked Iran. Young women calling for an end to the compulsory headscarf have been joined by students, laborers, and professionals demanding individual rights, political reform—and even, increasingly, an end to …

It’s getting harder to ignore. The persistent ISIS presence in the Syrian desert only serves US aims to continue its military occupation and support for Kurdish separatism. In March 2019, former US President Donald Trump startled Washington’s war establishment by announcing that the mission of “eliminating terrorism” had been accomplished …

The decision to try one of the so-called “Beatles” ISIS members in the US was to conceal his previous links to British intelligence and his role in their regime-change efforts in Syria. In January 2023, reports emerged that Alexanda Kotey, known as “Jihadi George” and one of the four British …

“Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy. Over 80 percent of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea,” according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Coastal nations have varying degrees of economic importance based on their geographic …

While sanctions continue to hinder the implementation of the gas deal involving Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, a bus bombing in Damascus wounded 15 police officers. Kurds in Syria also fear a military invasion of the country’s Northeast by Turkey in march. Regional power plan for Lebanon held up over …

The council announced the kidnapping on Saturday of one of its activists, according to Shaam News. The Kurdish National Council in Syria condemned acts that contradict all human values and human rights, which fall within the framework of the policy of silencing voices, preventing freedom of political action, and restricting …

The Turkish intelligence is trying to reopen the M4 highway in a meeting in Idleb with HTS and the Turkish-backed factions. Meanwhile, ISIS has killed several members of the SDF and the Syrian army, and 15 security service members are injured in an attack with an IED. The IDF says …

The U.S. Envoy to NE Syria met with Arab tribal leaders in the governorates of Hassakeh and Raqqa, according to Orient Net. The recent visit of U.S. State Envoy Nicholas Granger to northeastern Syria, accompanied by intense meetings with political, tribal, and military parties, has strengthened the belief that the …