Middle Orient

These last few days have been bloody for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish-led group has been under the fire of the Islamic State (ISIS) as a retaliation for the assassination of their leader. In fact, on Tuesday, several members of the SDF were killed in two separate attacks …

As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its third month, questions have swirled about whether a negotiated solution with Russian President Vladimir Putin is possible. Kenneth Dekleva, a psychiatrist who previously worked with the U.S. State Department, dismisses any speculation that Putin is unstable and therefore impossible to deal with. “He’s …

The government of President Ebrahim Raisi blames the previous government of Hasan Rouhani for all its shortfalls and social, economic, and international incompetencies. Before that Rouhani blamed Ahmadinejad, President of Iran from 2005 to 2013 for the same things. Despite their blaming game, all these government officials and authorities have …

China has become a strategic partner for many countries in the Middle East. China’s role has expanded greatly with Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s announcement in 2013 of the Belt and Road Initiative, which is the cornerstone of the modern Chinese strategy. Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize the …

The Islamic State (IS) province in Iraq (Wilayah Iraq) stabilized its operations in 2020 and increased them in 2021 (Jihad Analytics, January 24; Jihad Analytics, February 4). After the fall of IS as a territorial entity and the death of the previous caliph, Abubakar al-Baghdadi, IS reorganized its multiple Iraqi …

Is Russia’s lucky streak in Syria and Libya finally running out? The Kremlin has gambled big on proxy warfare in both countries, deploying thousands of private military contractors with the so-called Wagner Group to back its favorite strongmen. But after a recent run of misfortunes for Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, …

With the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic crash dominating the headlines, the civil war in Syria has faded into media obscurity. But there is more bad news there that warrants the world’s attention. Turkey is engaged in a military campaign in Syria’s northwestern ldlib province that risks a conflict …

It was billed as a promising breakthrough — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting last month and agreeing to try to resolve their countries’ age-old differences, keeping, at least, a lid on tensions as the conflict in Ukraine rages. But on Thursday, as armed …

The Idlib-based group’s decision to hand over several jihadis to Turkey, including two men affiliated with the Islamic State, come as part of HTS’s attempt to present itself as more moderate. Reports about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) handing over foreign jihadis to Turkey in exchange for being removed from international …

There is speculation about a secret deal between Ankara and Baghdad eyeing a contiguous, 30-kilometer-deep buffer from Syria to Iraq. Turkey’s fresh military operation against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, under way since April 18, has sparked debates in the Iraqi parliament over claims of a secret deal between the …