Middle Orient

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham tried to enter the Turkey-backed factions’ stronghold to support Ahrar al-Sham that refused to support the newly formed leadership by some groups within the movement. Sources in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) told Al-Monitor that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an attack at dawn on Nov. …

Lethal force was used against mourners at funerals, women were tear-gassed at a crowded subway station, and more than two months of unrest in Iran appeared far from fizzling out. Nearly 30 people were killed in less than 48 hours as Iranian cities witnessed a flare-up of anti-government protests, which …

French President Emmanuel Macron admitted this week that amid ongoing protests in Iran and the mass detention of demonstrators, it would be very difficult for the West to make progress on talks for a new nuclear deal. The French leadership is finding it harder and harder to separate the talks …

At 15:17 p.m. Sunday, a CCTV camera picked up a woman in black hijab and tight camouflage pants walking at Taksim Square. A few minutes later, another camera caught her shopping in a store on Istiklal Street. After sitting on a bench for about 45 minutes, at 16:11 she took …

The Biden administration has made it clear to Iraq’s new prime minister that it will not work with ministers and senior officials who are affiliated with Shiite militias the U.S. has designated as terrorist organizations, two sources briefed on the issue told me. Why it matters: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became the …

Turkey’s skies remain open to Russian airlines and its doors remain open to hundreds of thousands of Russians and their money. Turkey’s exports to Russia are surging. Russian cash helped to plug the growing hole in Turkey’s foreign currency reserves — and at a time when Erdogan needs foreign money …

By strengthening alternative transit corridors, Moscow hopes to counter tightening Western economic sanctions and transit restrictions adopted in response to Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine. One of the most important prospects for Russia in this regard is to strengthen shipping and transit cooperation with Iran in the Caspian Sea. To …

Tehran vows to continue targeting Iraq’s Kurdistan region until the Iranian Kurdish opposition leave the area permanently. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has close links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced today that the attacks on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan will continue until these groups …

Iranian shops are closing up in waves amid the continuing nationwide protests. Iran was hit with widespread business strikes on Thursday in support of anti-government protests that were entering a third month.   Over the past week, and despite severe internet disruptions and rigorous controls, campaigners have urged civil disobedience on the anniversary …

The operation coincided with the US ambassador’s visit to Hadhramaut province, where he met with officials in the Saudi-backed government On the evening of 9 November, Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement launched a drone attack targeting a foreign oil tanker in the Qina port of Shabwah province’s Radum district, marking the …