Middle Orient

Pressured by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and concerned over Hezbollah attacking, Prime Minister Yair Lapid announced Israel will not negotiate its maritime border with Lebanon under threats. Within less than a week, the optimism that had swept through Jerusalem, Beirut and Washington regarding prospects for completing a deal on the …

US strikes knocked off the jihadist group’s second-highest Syrian commander and a smuggler believed to have helped kidnap and behead Kurdish officials. American military forces in Syria killed three top Islamic State officials in two separate operations over the past 24 hours, US officials said. The Islamic State’s deputy commander …

A satire show broadcast on Sweden’s state TV has cast clouds over a new round of Turkey-Sweden talks on NATO’s Nordic enlargement. The talks between Turkey and Sweden over Stockholm’s bid to join NATO appear to have yielded little signs of progress as Ankara summoned the Swedish ambassador in Ankara …

Iraq’s oil reduction per the recent OPEC+ agreement will not affect the country’s revenues, according to Iraq’s oil minister. During the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, which was held Oct. 5 at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, the 23 member states decided to decrease oil production. According to …

Post-civil war Lebanon can be described as a series of calamitous events impacting a people who are already no stranger to being taken advantage of by their political system, as the civil war and subsequent three-decade Syrian military occupation had the combined consequence of eliminating all progressive resistance, creating a …

Syrian government forces are deployed in the Syrian desert in preparation for a large campaign against the Islamic State. Media sources from Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria told Al-Monitor that government forces instructed members in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa to mobilize ahead of a major military operation in the Badia …

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveled this week to Azerbaijan on the backdrop of growing tensions with Iran and Jerusalem’s desire to deepen strategic, security and economic ties with Baku. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveled this week to Azerbaijan, where he met with President Ilham Aliyev and Defense Minister …

According to Iranian authorities, those protesting Mahsa Amini’s death are some of the youngest ever seen in the country. According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the latest protests in Iran are being attended by some of the youngest age groups ever to attend protests in the country. Ali …

Iran has vowed to respond to any “hostile actions” after an Iranian drone was reportedly shot down en route to Erbil. The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Mohammed Bagheri, vowed Friday to respond to any “hostile actions” targeting Iranian drones, Iranian news outlets reported. The threats followed Wednesday’s …

In his first speech since the outbreak of protests Sept. 16, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Israel of promoting unrest in the country. For the first time since protests swept the country nearly two weeks ago, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has addressed …