Middle Orient

It was understandable why, on 29 November, 1947, the United Nations (UN) passed Resolution 181, partitioning Palestine and creating a Jewish state. In the wake of the Holocaust, there was a widespread sentiment that there should be some form of recompense to the Jews, even if it came at the …

Iranian leaders are exchanging a wide range of visits with regional leaders to break Tehran out of its isolation. Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s visit to Iran represents his attempt to consolidate outside support amid Russia’s distraction with its war against Ukraine. Gulf state leaders are pressing Tehran to compromise …

Since early May, Iran has been rocked by protests over a precipitous rise in food prices, triggered by the government’s decision to cut existing subsidies on food products. Since then, prices have gone up dramatically, with staples such as imported wheat increasing by up to 300 percent and cooking oil …

As of last week, NATO seemed well on its way to expanding, when Finland and Sweden formally submitted their applications for membership. When they officially join, becoming the 31st and 32nd member of the alliance, it could potentially mark the fastest accession process in the alliance’s history. This is reflective …

NATO’s spat over Turkish opposition to Swedish and Finnish membership is about more than expanding the North Atlantic military alliance. It’s as much about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s immediate political goals as Turkey’s positioning itself in a new 21st-century world order. On its surface, the spat is about Turkish …

The residents of Tadef in the Aleppo countryside are rejecting a military trench being dug by the Turkish army that would cross through their city, calling on changing its course and retaking control of the areas held by the Syrian government forces inside the city. The Turkish army on May …

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced plans to establish a new oil company for the Kurdistan Region. Amid the tense relations between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the implementation of the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling that deemed the 2007 oil and gas law governing …

Israel’s top security and intelligence officials can’t agree on whether Israel is better off with or without an Iran nuclear deal. Israel’s top defense and security brass is engaged in a tense dispute over the handling of Iran’s nuclear program. The drama is reminiscent of the deep disagreement among Israel’s …

Ankara’s threats come amid a spat with NATO allies over Finland and Sweden’s request to join the Western alliance. Turkey’s National Security Council said on Thursday that Turkey’s “existing and future military operations” along its southern borders were necessary for the country’s security but that they did not target the …

The Turkish president continues his aggressive games toward Syria, taking advantage of the current international instability caused by the war in Ukraine. He announced to the international community that his regime continues to seek the establishment of a 30 km-deep safe zone inside Syrian territory. There are preparations being made …