Middle Orient

Turkish forces escalated their air attacks in areas under the control of the SDF, according to al-Modon. Syrian opposition sources revealed to al-Modon that the pledges made by Turkey’s partners in the Astana track are to discourage Ankara from launching a new military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) …

The agreement increased the regime’s oil intake, mainly used for its military forces, Baladi News. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime have signed a new agreement to increase oil convoys from areas east of the Euphrates controlled by the SDF to regime-controlled areas. According to the local …

The Revolutionary Commandos receive ongoing military training from U.S. forces, according to Baladi News. On Thursday (July 28th), the Revolutionary Commandos (Maghaweer el Thawra) conducted joint military exercises with U.S. forces at the Tanf base in southern Syria. In a tweet, the faction said it had conducted joint exercises with …

Four Autonomous Administration’s Internal Security Forces members were killed by a Turkish drone targeting their car in the Ain Issa area, according to al-Modon. On Thursday, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration’s local authorities stated that they had found a mass grave containing dozens of bodies in northern Syria. The statement suggested …

On Tuesday, the Men of Dignity movement took control of a military security militia headquarters in Sweida governorate. The Suwayda 24 said that the Men of Dignity movement took control of the Raji Falhout military security headquarters in Sweida and burned it. It was a center for kidnapping, murder, and …

The killing of longtime al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri could accelerate a trend that has been consistently emerging in recent years—the factionalization and regionalization of the global jihadist movement. To survive, al-Qaeda adopted a franchising strategy which led it to expand worldwide and establish regional branches in the Levant, North Africa, …

Advances in Iran’s nuclear program have heightened concerns that it could develop a nuclear bomb in a matter of weeks. Israel views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat and has signaled it would take aggressive military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program if it passes the nuclear threshold. …

Demonstrators are occupying parliament in Baghdad, with Iraq’s main political camps deeply divided. The standoff need not turn violent, if the country’s leaders can shift to dialogue with support from foreign partners. It has been ten months since Iraqis went to the polls, for the fifth general election in the …

The Pentagon has warned Iran not to provide armed drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Russian officials have received training on Iranian military drones in Iran in recent weeks, a US official confirmed to Al-Monitor. US intelligence believes the training is part of a recent agreement between Tehran and …

Gas payments in rubles will help Turkey reduce its foreign-currency demand. The economic outcomes of the recent Turkish-Russian summit and a string of financial moves by the Russian builder of a nuclear power plant in Turkey have come as fresh signs that Turkey is becoming a safe harbor for sanctions-hit …