Middle Orient

The threat from Islamic State and al-Qaida extremists and their affiliates is most intense in parts of Africa, and risks are growing in Syria, which both groups view as a “a strategic base for external operations,” U.N. experts said in a new report. Their report to the U.N. Security Council …

Over a week between November and December 2024, Syria’s Assad regime disintegrated under pressure from a rebel offensive after 14 years of war. This offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Salafi extremist group. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, …

The E3 (the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) reiterated that it will trigger the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) snapback mechanism to reinstate UN Security Council sanctions on Iran if Iran fails to make progress towards a nuclear deal by the end of August 2025.[1] CTP-ISW previously assessed that …

Le 19 juillet, le Mail on Sunday a révélé qu’Inter-Mediate, une société obscure fondée par Jonathan Powell, désormais conseiller à la Sécurité nationale du Premier ministre britannique Keir Starmer, a négocié le rétablissement des relations diplomatiques entre Damas et Londres. Cette visite s’est notamment traduite par une réunion très médiatisée …

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. Israeli strikes overnight killed more than two dozen people, mostly women and children, according to health officials. The Israeli offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has …

[This investigation is co-published with French investigative outlet Disclose and our Arabic-language sister publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. It is a follow-up to a first investigation into the same subject, which was published in French in online newspaper Mediapart in March 2024]. [The situated testimony video included in this investigation is a …

In a typical authoritarian overreach, Mahmoud Abbas and the PA appear to be lining up a successor Israel wants — and Palestinians don’t, writes Yara Hawari. At the beginning of May 2025, in a move that stunned many Palestinians, President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as Deputy Chair of the …

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Why Have Israel’s Recent Wars Led to Little Terrorism and No Mass Uprising? The Middle East is in crisis, and Israel is at the center of the storm. Since Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 Israelis, the Israeli military has assailed and occupied much of …

Exclusive: Documents seen by Declassified reveal serious concerns within the UK government and MI5 about proscribing Palestine Action. The UK government was secretly advised that Palestine Action is “highly unlikely” to advocate for violence while officials struggled to produce evidence the group posed a national security threat, it can be …