Middle Orient

Russia’s faltering war effort in Ukraine has caused regional powers to exploit this and try to expand their influence in Syria, threatening to worsen humanitarian conditions there. Moscow has stepped up diplomacy to normalize relations with the Assad regime and reintegrate Syria into the broader Middle East region, in part …

Disinformation will continue to evolve in 2023 with several trends worth highlighting, including: Sino-Russian alignment, more state actors seeking to acquire sophisticated disinformation capabilities, and the harnessing of emerging technologies for information manipulation purposes. Telegram has emerged as one of the primary platforms used to spread disinformation to myriad online …

“These are the basic lines of the national government headed by me: The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel – in the Galilee, the Negev, the …

The 2020 US airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad continues to be a sore point between the US and Iraqi governments. Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council again brought up an arrest warrant for former US President Donald Trump on Thursday in connection to the 2020 assassination of the …

As the Turkish president eyes a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, the Turkish defense chief warns Ankara-backed armed groups against “provocations” amid ongoing Syrian protests against the Damascus-Ankara thaw. As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eyes a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, the Turkish defense chief on Friday warned the …

Russia’s use of Iranian drones in its war on Ukraine highlights the need for European countries to take stronger action to prevent the transfer of dual-use technologies to Iran. Tackling the transfer of dual-use technologies to Iran has been on Europe’s radar since the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad employed such …

A week after Congress passed the US defense budget for the fiscal year 2023, President Joe Biden last month signed the budget — which amounted to $858 billion, exceeding his proposal by $45 billion — into law. It offers vital benefits, such as enhancing access to justice for military personnel …

Tehran is stringing out the nuclear negotiations endlessly with the expectation that President Joe Biden will not admit that the talks have failed. After such an admission, the public would likely pressure the administration to stop offering Iran stealth economic relief through the lax enforcement of sanctions. Rigorous enforcement would, …

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 December 2022 has marked a turning point in Beijing’s foreign policy towards the Persian Gulf states. This three-day trip included three summits: One with President Xi and the Saudi Crown Prince on behalf of King Salman; a second between China and the …

The US Treasury Department designated four individuals and two entities accused of enabling the terrorist group’s recruitment and financial transfers. The US Treasury Department on Thursday designated what it described as a Turkey-based financial network of the Islamic State (IS) that moved funds to and from Syria and Iraq.  In …