Middle Orient

Clashes in Syria’s northeast between regime troops and forces aligned with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces killed two from each side on Tuesday, a war monitor said. Syria’s Kurds set up a semi-autonomous administration in the country’s northeast in 2013 after government troops withdrew. The SDF, a key US partner …

An Egyptian monitor predicted that the ISIS terror group would witness internal divisions after the death of its leader, Abu Ibrahim al Qurashi. The Cairo-based Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Terrorism confirmed that ISIS had always been preoccupied with internal divisions after losing its leaders. The group hopes to reorganize and …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said he intends to continue ‘detailed talks’ with Iran to reconcile the two parties Israel can become “a potential ally” of Saudi Arabia if the conflict with the Palestinians is resolved, the Saudi state-news agency SPA cited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman …

Conditions in Iraq have improved to the point that, in December 2021, the United States ended its combat support operations in the country. A residual force of about 2,500 U.S. military personnel remains to advise and train Iraq’s security forces. Operation Inherent Resolve—the U.S.-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State—has …

When President Donald Trump lost the 2020 US presidential election to democratic candidate Joe Biden, many leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) saw an ominous warning that democracy may again take center stage in US foreign policy, with autocrats trying to consolidate power in their hands. However, …

On January 31, US President Biden told the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that the United States would nominate Qatar as a “Major Non-NATO Ally” (MNNA). This status recognizes the bilateral security cooperation between the United States and Qatar has matured to the level beyond the already …

“The parties of the international community that are negotiating with Iran…. must realize that the extremist Iranian regime has not, and will not, abide by international laws, regulations and agreements, even if it swore and signed or pledged to abide by and implement them. The Iranian regime was founded on …

The stories of fighters who turned from the Islamic State to Syria’s rebel opposition forces show the how kinship ties, regionalism, and material concerns often trump ideology in the Syrian war. As the Islamic State’s meteoric rise reversed course in 2016, the terror organization’s fighters in northeast Syria faced a …

Infighting between Turkish-backed factions in north Syria continues despite pleas by civilians, with most recently dozens of members of the civilian police resigning in response to a shootout with the military police that left two of its members wounded. Violent clashes erupted Feb. 22 between members of the civilian police …

Turkey will limit the passage of Russian warships through its straits linking the Mediterranean and Black Sea as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues into its sixth day, in a move that will likely have a larger impact on the Syrian front than the war in Ukraine. The position became …