Middle Orient

Iraq has blown past all the constitutional deadlines to form a government in the aftermath of its October 2021 parliamentary elections, the results of which initially threatened to upend Iraq’s system of sectarian kleptocracy. Instead, seven months after the election, Iraq’s government formation talks appear to have reached a stalemate, …

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured a suspected ISIS facilitator in an operation near the Euphrates River Valley in Syria’s eastern Deir al-Zor province, the US-led Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT) announced on Tuesday morning.

The National Interest has published a shameless apology for Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war in Yemen, “The Saudi War of Necessity in Yemen” by Ahmed al-Maimouni. With his second sentence, Al-Maimouni, a retired Saudi major general, forfeits his right to be taken seriously: “It is imperative for Saudi Arabia to preserve …

Elbrus Kutrashev spoke to the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw about plans to export natural gas from the autonomous part of northern Iraq to Europe in response to the war in Ukraine. Russia’s ambassador to Iraq addressed plans to export natural gas from the Kurdistan Region to Europe in an interview …

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, continues to appear in public as he promotes his image as a leader who cares about the inhabitants of northwest Syria. The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has made another public appearance. He took part in the …

The Biden administration imposed economic sanctions on five Islamic State financiers in Turkey, Syria and Indonesia on Monday night. Members of the network played key roles in helping IS recruits join the group, and moved funds to help IS fighters obtain weapons and for children to be smuggled out of …

Growing popular resentment of refugees and migrants is on course to become the second hot-button election topic in Turkey after the economic crisis, but the government is not in a position to force the return of Syrians, the main component of the problem. The danger of xenophobia is rising in …

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards artillery fire hit an area north of the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil on Wednesday, targeting what Iranian state television described as terrorist bases. Iraqi Kurdish media reported that a shell had landed in a village in the Sidekan area near the Iranian border, around 60 miles …

The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that it arrested a suspected ISIS leader and two local collaborators in Raqqa on Sunday. “Our forces have raided a house where the terrorist was hiding with the help of two local collaborators who helped in securing shelter and movement,” the SDF …

Iran-linked parties in Iraq are playing on perceived and actual support for once-ostracized Sunni leaders to divide their political opponents despite inherent risks. Following series of meetings between Kurdistan Democratic Party and their Shiite and Sunnies allies in Erbil in order to form a majority government, a high delegation from …