Middle Orient

A senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was shot dead on Friday during clashes with anti-regime gunman, according to state media. Ali Mousavi, who was a leading figure of the IRGC in the Sistan-Baluchestan province, was killed in the south-eastern city of Zahedan, Tasnim news agency reported. …

The Iranian Foreign Minister stated that the US has sent multiple messages to Iran through the foreign ministers of certain countries. The Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was among a number of his counterparts from certain countries who carried America’s messages to Iran and vice versa, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein …

Iraq (Federal Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government) is the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. It holds the world’s fifth-largest proved crude oil reserves, at 145 billion barrels, representing 17% of proved reserves in the Middle East and 8% of global reserves.1 Most of Iraq’s major known …

Today’s Damavand [volcano] s made of a new generation of Iranians who don’t give tuppence about the Islamic Republic’s arcane narrative, and prefer life in the modern world, warts and all, to the North Korean-style society that “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei is trying to impose on Iran. The uprising was …

Israel and Lebanon received a US-brokered proposal for an agreement on a maritime border between the two countries. Lebanese President Michel Aoun met with US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Saturday and received the written proposal from US mediator Amos Hochstein, according to the Lebanese Presidency. At Sunday’s regular …

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 …