Middle Orient

Abu Amsha, leader of the Suleyman Shah division, was exiled outside of Afrin for two years, according to al-Souria Net. The arbitration committee charged with investigating the violations of the Suleyman Shah Division issued a decision banning its leader, Muhammad al-Jassem, nicknamed Abu Amsha, for a period of two Hijri …

Israeli officials are worried that sanctions on Russia would hinder the cooperation between the two countries in Syria, according to SY-24. Israeli officials have expressed concern that U.S. sanctions against Russia in response to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine could harm Tel Aviv’s security interests in Syria, Israel’s Walla …

The latest Houthi-related sanctions come as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia push the Biden administration to designate the Iran-supported group as a terrorist organization. The US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on a smuggling network that it said was helping fund Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The designations …

Prominent Arab political analysts, commentators and journalists are continuing to express fear about Iran’s “expansionist” schemes in the Arab countries, especially Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. They say that they are worried that a return to the JCPOA would further embolden the mullahs in Tehran and the Iranian-backed terrorist groups. …

A Vacancy at the Top Threatens the Group’s Global Operations It is only February, and already, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) has had a rough year. ISIS’s supporters quickly went from cheering on a large prison break in northeast Syria to learning, days later, that the group’s reclusive …

Iran’s president declared that US sanctions have failed to put a brake on his country’s lucrative natural gas production. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said his country is ready to serve as a regional safe route for natural gas and connect key producers to consumer markets. Speaking at a summit of …

Erdogan appears bent on advancing energy deals with Iraqi Kurdistan, even as a gas project remains bogged down by legal, technical and financial snags. The Iraqi Supreme Court’s Feb. 15 ruling that proclaimed Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil and gas law unconstitutional has cast a shadow on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s …

The Ukraine crisis has exposed Ankara’s limits on foreign policy, yet Turkey’s President Erdogan can still score points from rapprochement with the UAE and Israel. As Western capitals scramble to stop further Russian advancement into Ukraine — after the Kremlin’s decision to recognize the sovereignty of two breakaway territories in …

French President Emmanuel Macron has clearly decided to up the ante in a standoff with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, where France is backing Greece and Cyprus in their dispute with Ankara over natural gas reserves and maritime boundaries. First, Macron ordered a temporary reinforcement of French aerial and naval …

The Turkish president wants to boost business ties with African countries. Turkey’s president has promised to boost relations with African countries as he visited the Senegalese capital Dakar during a four-day tour of Central and West Africa. “We will continue to enhance our relations with African countries on the basis …