Middle Orient

In September last year, when the mother and younger brother of Greek-Nigerian NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo were granted honorary Greek citizenship in a special ceremony in Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in attendance. When historian Mark Mazower received the honour in January, Interior Minister Makis Voridis was present, while …

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohsen Khojastemehr stated on Friday that the country is planning to increase its oil production capacity by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) by March 2023. Speaking to IRNA, Khojastemehr noted that that raise would bring Iran’s capacity to more than …

When I joined Ehud Olmert’s government on June 18, 2007, as minister of defense, it was almost three months since planning of the destruction of the Syrian reactor in Deir az-Zor had begun (in late March). I was aware of this activity, having been briefed in late April about the …

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday threatened to resign due to the violence that has broken out among Shi’ite factions over a long-standing political conflict. In a televised speech, al-Kadhimi said, “The Iraqi blood that was shed yesterday sends a warning to every Iraqi that today we must put …

Iran’s theocratic regime has been opposed to monarchies and dynasties since it overthrew the Shah in 1979. Now there are hints that its aging Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may be thinking of throwing power to one of his sons. Mir-hossein Mousavi who served as Iran’s prime minister until the position …

At first glance, there is little that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an Islamist and nationalist, has in common with Dogu Perincek, a maverick socialist, Eurasianist, and militant secularist and Kemalist. Yet it is Mr. Perincek, a man with a world of contacts in Russia, China, Iran, and Syria whose …

Recently, Raisi’s government has talked about signing a memorandum of understanding to invest in three mega-projects in the amount of forty-two billion dollars. These three mega-projects are: The implementation of forty-eight industrial projects in which seven large domestic companies are involved (Naft and Energy site, 6, February 2022)Integrated development of …

On July 30 hundreds of supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, one of Iraq’s leading political figures, breached the parliament building in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, forced their way inside, and started a coordinated sit-in to protest at the recent nomination of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for the premiership. Sixty protesters were injured …

Deadly clashes flared in Iraq on Monday after hundreds of people stormed its government palace, an ominous turn of events that has plunged the country even deeper into political turmoil. The protesters, fiercely loyal supporters of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, had been enraged by his pledge to leave …

Dans un communiqué du 27 août, le ministère des Affaires étrangères turc a vivement réagi aux propos tenus la veille par Emmanuel Macron sur l’influence de la Turquie en Afrique, lors du second jour de sa visite officielle en Algérie. « Extrêmement regrettable ». C’est l’expression utilisée par le porte-parole …