Middle Orient

Turkey summoned the German and French ambassadors to Ankara to protest against events organised by Kurdish militants in their countries. The envoys were told of Turkey’s discomfort with the events organised by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, state-run …

The member states of the European Union on Monday agreed to impose terrorism-related sanctions against an al-Qaida-affiliated armed insurgent group and two of its leaders. The European Council, which oversees the 27-member bloc’s political direction, identified Hurras al-Din, a Syria-based al-Qaida affiliate, its leader, Faruq al-Suri, and its religious leader, …

Turkey, reportedly on the verge of yet another military incursion into Syria, appears up to other fun and games as well. The so-called “terrorists” to whom Erdoğan is referring are Kurdish politicians, political activists, and refugees who live in Sweden and Finland. In particular, those who engage in advocacy for …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of Israelis and Palestinians “working to maintain calm and de-escalate tensions,” during a phone call on Tuesday evening with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to a readout from the State Department. Blinken also “underscored the importance” of the Palestinian Authority …

A rocket struck a residential area in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding others, opposition activist said. Some activists said that the rocket was fired on Tel Abyad by the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a claim that …

Είτε ο τούρκος πρόεδρος κάνει εκλογές στην προγραμματισμένη ημερομηνία, σε έναν χρόνο από σήμερα, είτε τις επισπεύσει, είναι βέβαιο ότι η Ελλάδα θα βρίσκεται σε καθεστώς διαρκούς πίεσης, με ό,τι αυτό συνεπάγεται και για τα εσωτερικά θέματα. Διότι εκλογές έχει να κάνει και η Ελλάδα… Κάθε γεωπολιτική και στρατηγική ανάλυση …

Bahrain’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received in Manama on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Talks focused on the latest regional and international developments, most notably the situation in Ukraine. King Hamad stressed to his guest the importance of resolving the conflict in Ukraine in a way …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. It is the second call between the two counterparts in the last couple of months, despite reports of strained relations between the two countries. Blinken thanked the kingdom for trying …

At least five missiles hit a military base in western Iraq, according to reports citing unnamed Iraqi security officials. The Grad missile attack on the Ain al-Asad base, which hosts US troops, caused some minor damage but no injuries or deaths. The missiles landed just yards from where the US …

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made public on Tuesday documents stolen from Iran by Israel that Bennett says show that Iranian intelligence spied on the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog. Bennett’s release of the documents, offered in a link tweeted by the prime minister, comes after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian …