Middle Orient

The killing of a senior officer in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in broad daylight in the capital, Tehran, is rare. But the deaths of two senior members of the IRGC, the elite branch of Iran’s armed forces, inside the Islamic republic in the space of two weeks is …

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian will visit India next week with key focus expected to be on connectivity, particularly through the Chabahar port, and the situation in Afghanistan, Indian media reported. This will be Amirabdollahian’s first visit ever to India since taking charge last year. He was expected to visit …

What’s new? In October 2020, Baghdad and Erbil signed an agreement intended to build stability in Iraq’s Sinjar district through a new administration and security structure that would let displaced people return. The deal is only partly fulfilled, however. Turkey is intensifying bombardment of the PKK and its affiliates in the …

As diplomatic moves continue to shape the future of grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea and Russia’s Sea of Azov ports as a result of Moscow’s aggression, the outcome of attempts to “rewire” worldwide grain transport logistics is complicating the international geoeconomic environment by inducing food security problems. The conflict …

Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during what the army described as violent confrontations on Thursday. They are among four Palestinians who have been killed in the last two days at a time of heightened Mideast tensions. The Israeli military said forces operating in …

Relations between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf countries have been on life support for a long time. Ever since an early push for a free trade agreement between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foundered in 2008, few serious efforts have been made to revive the …

There are growing claims and indications that refugees illegally crossing the Iranian-Turkish border, the route of an exodus from Afghanistan to the West, are forced to smuggle drugs by their traffickers. The paths of refugees and drug traffickers have crossed at the porous Iranian-Turkish border, the route of tens of …

Turkey’s foreign minister says he will gather with his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts, possibly with Defense Minister Hulusi Akar accompanying him to Israel. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he would get together with his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts soon, in line with Turkey’s regional diplomacy efforts. “There are …

The decision by Tel Aviv University to establish academic bridges with three Turkish institutions reflects Jerusalem’s growing interest in Ankara’s policy of rapprochement. Tel Aviv University announced April 26 a new academic collaboration with three Turkish institutions: Koc, Ozyegin and Sabanci. “The purpose of the initiative is to promote academic …

Lavrov said Russia and Bahrain have a common position on Syria’s return to the Arab League, according to al-Watan. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, reiterated on Tuesday the need for a political solution to the crisis in Syria in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of 2015. He declared …