Middle Orient

The threat of a Turkish invasion into northern Syria could lead to an ISIS jailbreak Turkey’s strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to purge the U.S.-allied Kurdish force from northern Syria could create an Act 2 for the Islamic State terrorist movement to build a new caliphate, noted experts on …

Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the seventh summit of the heads of states in the Astana Peace Process for Syria in Tehran, Iran, on July 19, 2022. This marked Putin’s first trip outside the post-Soviet bloc since Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, and it was only his second voyage …

Lebanese political analyst Mikhael Awad said in a July 18, 2022 show on Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah-Lebanon) that according to the “data,” a potential war between Israel and Hizbullah would be decided in only two days. He explained that Hizbullah would rapidly reach Nazareth and the Israeli-Arab town of Umm Al-Fahm, …

In a July 18, 2022 interview on Russia Today TV, former Iranian diplomat Amir Mousavi was asked about the validity of senior Iranian official Kamal Kharrazi’s previous-day statement on Al-Jazeera Network that Iran is a nuclear threshold country and that it has the ability to produce nuclear weapons (see MEMRI …

Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, met July 24 with Iraqi officials in Baghdad, including Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, reportedly discussing the establishment of a new energy government for the Kurdistan Region. The prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani, visited …

Syrian Kurdish leader says Turkish intentions unclear. Will Turkey mount yet another military incursion against US-backed Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria “at any time, any moment,” as the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening for some time? The threat seemed to subside as Erdogan came back “empty handed,” …

The Iranian regime’s military cooperation with Russia is one of the core pillars of Tehran’s foreign policy and this partnership intensifies whenever the regime faces greater isolation and pressure in the region. The US last week stated that the Iranian government is planning to supply Russia with hundreds of unmanned …

Iranian Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian said the Islamic Republic has signed a long-term strategic electricity contract with Iraq to provide its Arab neighbor with sustainable energy supplies. Iran is already a key energy provider to Iraq which faces chronic electricity shortages despite sitting on the world’s fourth largest …

US Vice President Mike Pence’s meeting with Iranian opposition leader Maryam Radjavi at the Mojahedin’s headquarters in Albania and his strong support for the Democratic Alternative (National Council of Resistance of Iran) signal the prospect of the end of the regime in power in Iran. Lessons from history This is …

Last Wednesday, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan informed reporters traveling with Joe Biden to the Middle East that the president would not be shaking hands during his trip. The stated reason was the recent uptick in COVID-19. But in reality, the White House—which less …