Middle Orient

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said its forces had neutralized a “terrorist cell” in Salmas near the Turkish border. The IRGC issued a statement announcing that its ground forces tasked with protecting the border triangle with Turkey and the Kurdistan region of Iraq “neutralized a terrorist cell after intelligence …

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid continues his round of phone calls with regional leaders ahead of US President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia on July 13-16. On Sunday, the Israeli PM spoke with both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Lapid and …

“People will die because of this vote,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said of the Security Council’s failure to reauthorize the cross-border mechanism. Millions of Syrian lives hang in the balance after Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Friday that would have kept humanitarian aid flowing …

Algeria’s president managed to bring together Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for the first time in 6 years, but divisions between the two rival factions they represent may be too deep at this point. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune brought together in the Algerian capital Palestinian President …

Even if the US terrorist designation is not lifted, and there is agreement on the JCPOA, the IRGC will still be the power broker of Iranian domestic politics. As Qatar’s foreign minister visited Tehran Wednesday in an effort to follow up on talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal, there’s …

Time is running out to prevent what Yemen envoy Tim Lenderking warns will be a “massive oil spill the likes of which the world has not seen.” Off the coast of Yemen lies an aging oil tanker that could rupture at any moment. Experts say it’s not a matter of …

With Syria’s sole remaining route for cross-border aid in peril, a London-based oil company is lobbying for an initiative that would see the proceeds of Syrian oil being used for aid, with the money going to the UN rather than Damascus. Russia vetoed a UN security resolution on Friday that …

The EU partly wants the deal so it can buy oil and gas from the Iranian regime. The EU also appears to want the nuclear deal in order not to lose its other economic relationships and trade with the ruling mullahs of Iran. Despite US sanctions, European countries are still …

A Saudi opposition party said Sunday that one of its founding members was killed in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The National Assembly Party, whose members live in exile, said that founding member Manea Al-Yami was slain in “complicated circumstances.” “Upon the news of the assassination, the party has been trying …

Lattakia City Council signed a contract with the Russian company Sinara Int to invest in tourism, according to Hashtag Syria. On Tuesday, the Lattakia City Council signed a contract with the Russian company Sinara Int to invest in the tourist site of Jules Jammal. This comes with the aim of …