Middle Orient

Just before Israeli President Herzog arrives for Turkey visit, Erdogan’s adviser says in an antisemitic tweet that Ukraine and its people ‘are being used up and thrown away’ A senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy of leading his own people to death in the …

As Turkey scrambles in response to events in Ukraine, anti-NATO sentiment is spreading in large segments of Turkish society. As the world’s attention is focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how to isolate Russia financially, politically and diplomatically, Turkey has taken a unique balancing path. Ankara has been …

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to historically high oil prices. Oil prices across the Middle East and the world hit all-time highs again today. The price of Brent crude oil, widely considered the global benchmark for oil prices, briefly traded above $139 a barrel overnight. This was the …

Ankara has adopted a dual approach on the Ukraine crisis through moves both pleasing its NATO allies and positioning Turkey as a lifeline for Russia amid crippling Western sanctions on the country. Diverging from its NATO allies, Turkey has been positioning itself as an alternative platform in the face of …

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s delegation found Russian President Vladimir Putin focused and determined, and neither delusional nor out of control. Just over 24 hours after the dramatic Moscow meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a weapons depot was bombed south of Damascus. The strike, …

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 …