Middle Orient

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is producing secondary crises. Some are well publicised, such as the threat to world food supplies because the war has prevented Ukraine exporting millions of tons of grain from its Black Sea ports. The exodus of Ukrainian refugees crammed onto trains as they sought refuge …

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought some clarity to regional realignments and strategic partnerships in the Middle East, with the changing relationship between the United States and the oil-producing members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in particular coming into sharp focus. War has a tendency to cause states to …

The U.S. hasn’t “quit” the Middle East, notwithstanding the frequent complaints of its regional partners. But Washington has clearly scaled back its engagement in the region, especially in military terms, from its peak during the first decade after 9/11. This shift in the U.S. role has generated rancorous debate. Washington’s …

This means that Turkey will once again attack Kurds in Syria in an attempt to push them out of the region and claim their lands. These Kurdish groups that Erdogan labels “terrorists,” however, just so happen to be US allies who fought ISIS. Erdogan has publicly claimed parts of northern …

After agreeing to extend the monitoring mechanism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by reinstalling surveillance cameras a year ago, Iran then announced that it would not allow the IAEA to see images from the devices. The Iranian regime is also refusing to answer the IAEA’s questions about uranium …

A new cycle of attacks and responses between Iran and its adversaries threatens regional stability and the potential revival of the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear agreement. Israel has demonstrated a remarkable ability to execute operations targeting Iranian officials within Iran.Iranian leaders appear to have decided to retaliate against the U.S. …

Late last week, Turkey announced the capture of a high-ranking member of Islamic State (IS) in Istanbul, initially believed to be the new leader, though that is now uncertain. Since its rise in 2014, IS financiers and logisticians have cultivated and maintained robust support networks throughout Turkey, but now, it …

A U.S. court has asked Lebanon’s judiciary to serve legal papers against two top Lebanese politicians seeking to compel their response to accusations they orchestrated the kidnap and torture of a Lebanese-American couple. Elie Samaha, a U.S.-Lebanese citizen, and his wife Lara Samaha, who holds a U.S. green card, are …

The Kurdistan Regional Government on Thursday accused Iraqi Hezbollah-linked militants of carrying out a drone attack in Erbil that wounded three civilians and damaged several vehicles. The strike occurred on the outskirts of Erbil, on the road to Pirmam, at 9.35pm local time on Wednesday. Officials said a drone was …

The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group threatened Thursday to strike a gas rig Israel is setting up in the Mediterranean Sea and that Lebanon claims is in a disputed maritime area between the two countries. Israel says the location is part of its U.N.-recognized exclusive economic zone. Hezbollah’s Hassan …