Middle Orient

The crisis in Ukraine, from the perspective of Ankara, carries significant risks, but also some opportunity. It is neither a crisis of their own making, nor one that they welcomed; nevertheless, Ankara has clearly developed a basic blueprint for weathering the storm. From the perspective of Washington policymakers, their strategy …

ISIS is reportedly trying to seize the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria, according to North Press. On Wednesday, a high-ranking official said they received intelligence information detailing that the Islamic State (ISIS) is planning for a full-scale control over the al-Hol Camp in the east of Hassakeh, northeastern Syria. Two …

Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi stressed on Tuesday the need to stop the terrorism of Iranian-backed Houthi militias and affirmed his country’s commitment to reaching a sustainable peace solution based on the Gulf initiative, its executive mechanism, outcomes of the national dialogue and relevant UN resolutions, mainly resolution 2216. Hadi’s …

Lebanese President Michel Aoun informed Tuesday a visiting US Treasury delegation that Lebanon continues to combat corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing operations. “Lebanese laws are applied firmly and accurately in this field,” Aoun told the delegation during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. He indicated that Lebanon …

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Intelligence indicates that ISIS is plotting a full-scale attack on northeast Syria’s al-Hol camp, the Syria-based North Press Agency reported on Wednesday. “Last Monday, a group of ISIS cells were planning for a full-scale attack in the camp, and it is possible that this group is …

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, …