Middle Orient

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stunningly made it clear to US lawmakers that the Biden administration will not stand in the way of Russia cashing in on the $10 billion contract as well as Russia-Iran nuclear cooperation. And the State Department spokesman Ned Price reiterated the Biden administration’s …

Yemen’s six-month truce is up for renewal on 2 October. The UN and external powers should redouble their efforts to forge agreement on an expanded deal. If those look set to fall short, however, they should propose interim arrangements that avert a return to major combat. Thanks to a UN-brokered …

President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu say Turkey will send more troops and arms to northern Cyprus after the Biden administration lifts defense trade restrictions to Greek Cypriots. Turkey has vowed to reinforce its military presence in northern Cyprus, where it already has about 40,000 troops, adding to tensions with …

Demonstrations were organized against the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army in the city of al-Bab, during which protesters demanded that the factions return their houses and farms that had been seized after the FSA took control of the city in 2017. The city of al-Bab, which is under the control of …

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 …

Part III: The Coordination Framework Nearly one year after Iraq’s October 2021 parliamentary elections, the government has yet to be formed. The government formation power struggle pits the Sadrist Movement, led by populist Shi’a cleric Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr, against the Coordination Framework (CF),1 a loose association of Shi’a parties, united …

Russia is pushing Turkey in the direction of normalization with the Syrian government, according to Athr Press. Several members of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) have leaked documents in which Turkey warns SOC not to waste time in any talks between the opposition and the Syrian government. The documents note …

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they fired missiles and drones at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where authorities said 13 people were killed. The strikes were reported after Iranian authorities accused armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of involvement in unrest now shaking Iran, especially in …

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi calls recent protests “sedition,” and police arrest a former president’s daughter. At a cabinet meeting today, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed “enemy” countries for provoking protests. “The enemy’s efforts at sedition in the country is a result of the fear they have of the system’s power …

The Biden administration on Thursday blacklisted entities in China, Hong Kong, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade. The United States announced fresh sanctions Thursday on an international network of companies it says are involved in the sale of Iranian petroleum and …