Middle Orient

At least 15 people were killed and 40 others were injured Wednesday in a “terrorist attack” at the Shahcheragh Shrine in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran, according to state-run media and Iranian officials. Two children were among the victims, according to state-run Press TV. Iranian security forces have arrested …

The Iraqi parliament gave a vote of confidence to incoming PM Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, approving his government program and his cabinet with 21 ministers. Sudani pledged to hold early elections within one year. Iraq’s parliament gave a vote of confidence Thursday evening to incoming Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and …

Israeli defense chief stressed stability in the Eastern Mediterranean during his landmark visit to Ankara amid lingering tensions between Turkey and Greece. Turkey and Israel agreed to enhance “formal defense ties” during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Turkey visit, which he described as “historic.” Gantz met with Turkish President Recep …

The aging brick campus of the Sharif University of Technology, Iran’s elite technical school, has long been a magnet for the nation’s brightest minds, with a record of elevating its students to the highest reaches of society. Thousands of Sharif University alumni power Iran’s most sensitive industries, including nuclear energy …

What do members, future members, dialogue partners and future dialogue partners of this exotic blend of nations [the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO] have in common? With their growing democratic deficits and authoritarian-to-dictatorship regimes, they are at cold war with the world’s democratic bloc of nations. “I told Putin… Let us …

Instead of assuming its responsibility for halting terrorist attacks from areas under its control, the Palestinians continue to violate the agreements they signed with Israel. In the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority did not take real measures to stop Hamas from building a massive terrorism infrastructure. Hamas later used its …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally launched his AKP campaign with a big bash in Ankara today. The event was called “Turkey’s Century,” and Erdogan offered a sneak preview on Twitter by sharing a video that will only fuel further speculation that he wants to anoint his younger son-in-law, Selcuk Bayraktar, …

Turkey has enjoyed friendly treatment in the Russian press that has praised Turkey for refusing to knuckle under to the Americans and join the sanctions against Russia. It is the tough interlocutor that looks after its interests as opposed to the supine Europeans, who are shooting themselves in the foot …

In an October 19, 2022 meeting with top Iranian academics, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for investing in the country’s elite, particularly its scientific elite, and touted the nuclear, drone, and missile accomplishments of Iran’s Islamic revolutionary regime, as well as its achievements in launching satellites into space, stem …

Iran sees Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as an ally worth keeping despite his harsh criticisms of Iran and its allies in Iraq. Hundreds of Sadrist protesters joined a demonstration today in Baghdad’s Liberation Square, marking the third anniversary of the start of the so-called October protest movement. On Oct. …