Middle Orient

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched at least one missile into the busy waters of Red Sea over the weekend, a U.S. official said Monday, raising the risk of the rebels striking one of the many commercial vessels using a waterway crucial to global shipping. The Red Sea connects onto the Suez …

The Kremlin appears to be shifting tactics as it meets stiff Western-backed resistance in Ukraine. The Pentagon believes Russia’s military has sought to recruit Syrians to fight in Ukraine as local resistance has begun to bog down Moscow’s invasion effort, defense officials said Monday. Reports of Moscow’s alleged recruitment attempts …

Ukraine continued to call for the West to impose a no-fly zone and provide fighter jets. Russia is recruiting Syrians to fight against Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday citing US officials. The Syrians recruited are reportedly “skilled in urban combat.” According to American officials, Russia has been …

The wave of assassinations reflects the failure of the Turkish-backed opposition factions to secure the area in north Syria, while their members are accused of facilitating these operations by turning a blind eye on smuggling operations from regime and Kurdish-held areas. Citizens in the areas held by the Turkish-backed Syrian …

Iraq has aligned with China and Iran in abstaining from a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Russia continues to gain territory in Ukraine and thousands have reportedly been killed on both sides in a few days, Iraq has abstained from a UN vote demanding that …

Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank Khader Adnan was subjected to an assassination attempt in Nablus, raising speculation about the possible role of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. Leader of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank Khader Adnan survived an assassination attempt Feb. 26 after armed men shot him …

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spent the weekend in Moscow and Berlin, and talking either in person or on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

If Prime Minister Naftali Bennett secures a peace agreement, or even a ceasefire, in the war between Russia and Ukraine, he’ll be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. But it’s far more likely that he’s playing right into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This isn’t a zero-sum game; …

At the so-called White Palace in Ankara, the official residence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, preparations are in high gear for President Isaac Herzog’s visit on Wednesday. Erdogan’s colorful presidential guard will welcome him, his presidential band will play “Hatikva” and the Turkish anthem and the two presidents are …

Since Iran has deployed new air defense batteries in Syria last year, the IAF has had to change how they carry out their strikes Iran has used advanced air-defense batteries against Israeli planes carrying out war-between-war operations in Syria in an attempt to challenge IAF pilots. Tehran first deployed the …