Middle Orient

The governments of Sweden and Finland have formally submitted their applications to join NATO after thorough discussion within their respective parliaments. The move will prove to be the latest and arguably the most significant development from the West in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I warmly welcome the requests …

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is trying to turn what appears to be the most strategic move in NATO’s history into carpet-trading at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. “The Russian-Kurdish nexus has been a recurring feature of Middle Eastern geopolitics for more than two hundred years, since Catherine the Great commissioned the publication …

Lebanon’s first elections since 2018 were held on Sunday, in a country beset by state mismanagement and endemic corruption, whose currency has lost 90% of its value and where 80% of the population lives in poverty. The results of the elections could determine whether the international community will provide Lebanon …

Iran-backed political and militant group Hezbollah lost its parliamentary coalition majority in the Lebanese elections, officials announced on Tuesday. Reformist political groups, including Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah’s main Christian rival, won around 10% of Lebanon’s seats in the first parliamentary elections since the country’s economic crisis began, which were held Sunday. …

The US military will participate in a major Israeli drill later this month simulating an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Tuesday. The drill, part of an exercise dubbed “Chariots of Fire,” will include the air-to-air refueling of Israeli fighter jets by US Air Force tanker …

State media aired what it said was Intelligence Ministry footage of the arrest of two French citizens, accused of attempting to “instigate chaos” by inciting Iran’s protesting teachers. One week after a statement on the arrest of two Europeans, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry revealed the identities, nationality and details of what …

The warning by Defense Minister Benny Gantz over Iran manufacturing and installing 1,000 advanced centrifuges, and the IDF drill simulating an attack on Iran, express growing concerns in Jerusalem over the reported failure of the Vienna talks. Iran is attempting to complete the manufacture and installation of 1,000 IR6 advanced …

Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides. Commanders from one of the leading factions …

If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine turned the spotlight on Turkey’s status as a regional power. Sweden and Finland’s expected bid to join NATO could further boost Turkish influence if …

The Russo-Ukrainian war has had a direct impact on the status of the various China–Central Asia–Russia–Europe transit corridors that traverse Eurasia. The Northern Corridor branch of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in particular, has faced serious challenges and limitations, forcing a halt to the so-called “New Eurasian Land Bridge” …