Middle Orient

Iraq’s new president commenced his duties, and the designated prime minister will form his Cabinet next week. Latif Rashid, a veteran political leader in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) who was elected Oct. 13 as Iraq’s new president, commenced his duties in Al-Salam Palace in Baghdad on Monday. Rashid …

EU sanctions over Iran’s clampdown on dissent unsettled Iranian authorities, which are grappling with one of the biggest domestic challenges they have faced since the 1979 revolution. The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanani, condemned sanctions slapped by the Council of the European Union on a number of Iranian …

Amid Ankara’s overtures to Damascus, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — the radical group controlling Idlib — has seized Afrin and is seeking a deal to expand its control further into territories held by factions allied with Turkey. A dramatic shift of control has been underway in Afrin and other areas held …

Several European Union foreign ministers on Monday called for sanctions against Iran over the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia, as the bloc agreed a separate set of asset freezes and travel bans over Tehran’s crackdown on protests. The sanctions and threat of more will pile pressure on Iran’s rulers …

Hardline rebel fighters in northern Syria have clawed territory away from their Turkey-backed rivals this week in clashes that have left more than two dozen dead, the factions and a war monitor said on Friday. Tensions erupted earlier this month between a rebel group backed by Turkey and more hardline …

Russia has approximately 300 Iranian drones left in its arsenal but plans to buy thousands more, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Friday evening, even as on Sunday morning Iranian officials continued to deny the sale of any weapons to Moscow for use in the invasion of Ukraine.

A month after Iran’s protest movement first erupted, it appears to be gaining steam in the face of Tehran’s violent crackdown, which human rights groups say has killed at least 233 people—including 32 children. To crush dissent, security forces have pulled from a brutal playbook, including firing assault rifles at …

As scattered anti-government and anti-hijab protests continue across Iran, members of one beleaguered ethnic and religious minority who joined in the demonstrations are still assessing the toll from “Bloody Friday.” Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, was the scene of the violent crackdown carried out by security …

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Friday eliminated a member of the PKK terrorist organization who served as a so-called brigade chief in Syria. Nejdet Dağlarer, code-named “Geli Serhat,” was added to MIT’s target list due to his activities for the PKK in Türkiye and actions against the Turkish Armed …

A powerful jihadist group has taken over a strategic town in northwest Syria following days of clashes with several militia groups who were controlling the area, local sources said. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as al-Nusra Front, entered the town of Afrin on Thursday after its former rulers withdrew …