Middle Orient

The Real Apartheid in the Middle East

Where is the outcry from Amnesty International and other human rights organizations? When an Arab country subjects Palestinians to actual apartheid measures, the international community is too busy lying about Israel’s alleged abuses to take notice. “It is estimated that 65% of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live under the …

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Islamic State Out to Prove It’s More Than Its Leader

The Islamic State is so far showing few signs of faltering, just days after U.S. special operation forces dropped into northwest Syria and surrounded the terror group’s leader, who they say then blew himself up without a fight. Intelligence agencies and independent analysts tracking IS on social media have yet …

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UN: Build on Islamic State chief’s death to thwart recruits

The U.N. counterterrorism chief said Wednesday it’s crucial to build on the momentum following last week’s death of the leader of the Islamic State extremist group and address the grievances that terrorist groups exploit to attract new followers. Undersecretary-General Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that the death of …

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Biden Calls Saudi King To Discuss Houthi Attacks, Oil Supply

The king of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, “to discuss regional developments and issues of mutual concern, including Iranian-enabled attacks by the Houthis against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia,” according to a readout of the call by the …

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Israel freezes spyware exports

Israel’s Defense Ministry has taken multiple steps to control the exportation of spyware, but the Pegasus affair continues to grow in Israel and abroad. Pegasus developer NSO has warned the Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist today that it will take legal action if the outlet does not back away from reports …

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Israel fears fire exchange with Syria could indicate strategic shift

Israel strikes military targets in Damascus amid increased concerns over Syria-Russia ties. Syria’s air defense systems were activated at 1 a.m. local time on Feb. 9 (2300 GMT, Feb. 8) and Syrian state media reported that the “Israeli enemy” had allegedly carried out an aerial strike on Syria from an …

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IRGC unveils precision strike ballistic missile with range of 1,450 km

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles), which enjoys high agility and is capable of striking its designated targets with pinpoint accuracy. The missile, dubbed Khaybar Shekan, was put on display on Wednesday during a ceremony attended …

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Understanding The ‘Shiite Crescent’ As Iranian Grand Strategy – Analysis

As a concept, grand strategy refers to the long-range instrumental mobilisation of a state’s combined resources, vectors of influence and capabilities in order to achieve an advantageous position, satisfy vital national interests, enhance national security, and navigate assertively in an environment in which uncertainty and danger are commonplace. As such, …

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Jihadist group seeks influence in Syria’s Idlib via religious schools

The influence of religious schools is growing in Idlib, with their fundamentalist curricula under the supervision of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Amid the deteriorating conditions in public schools in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib and lack of funding, with teachers who have worked without getting paid for years going on regular …

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