Middle Orient

Iran’s state TV on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of two French citizens, saying they met with protesting teachers and took part in an anti-government rally. The report identified the two as Cecile Kohler, 37, and Chuck Paris, 69, and said they were not on a tourist visit to Iran. France …

Amid speculation about a reduced US military commitment to security in the Middle East, Turkey has spotlighted the region’s ability to act as a disruptive force if its interests are neglected. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set off alarm bells this week, declaring that he was not “positive” about possible …

The Iraqi Air Force killed three suspected ISIS militants in an airstrike on the country’s western Anbar province, the military’s Security Media Cell announced on Thursday. The strike killed three suspected ISIS members hiding in a tunnel believed to have served as a “hostel” for the group in Wadi Ashwa …

It was a sea of yellow as thousands of men, women and children waving Hezbollah flags and wearing the group’s trademark yellow caps rallied on a giant plot of land in the ancient eastern city of Baalbek in support of the heavily armed militant group. One after another, many attendees …

Turkey´s president on Monday complicated Sweden and Finland´s historic bid to join NATO, saying he cannot allow them to become members of the alliance because of their perceived inaction against exiled Kurdish militants. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled down on comments last week indicating that the two Nordic countries´ path …

Turkey´s president on Monday complicated Sweden and Finland´s historic bid to join NATO, saying he cannot allow them to become members of the alliance because of their perceived inaction against exiled Kurdish militants. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled down on comments last week indicating that the two Nordic countries´ path …

Sweden and Finland have proclaimed their intent to join NATO in the backdrop of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war in Europe. The move, which is a drastic deviation from decades of military non-alignment between both countries, deals another blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin as his country struggles with the repercussions …

Emboldened by an oil price surge since Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran’s clerical rulers are in no rush to revive a 2015 nuclear pact with world powers to ease sanctions on its energy-reliant economy, three officials familiar with Tehran’s thinking said.

On Wednesday April 27, 2022, according to Syria’s defense ministry backed by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Israel launched a missile attack on positions near Damascus killing four Syrian soldiers. The Syrian state news agency claimed the missiles had been launched from Tiberias in north-eastern Israel. According …

Aleppo was devastated by bombing and shelling during the Syrian war. It remains unsafe, with residents subject to shakedowns by the regime’s security forces and various militias. Damascus and its outside backers should curb this predation as a crucial first step toward the city’s recovery. What’s new? Almost six years after …