Middle Orient

The Turkish government has given the go-ahead for the mass production of the country’s indigenous basic trainer and light-assault aircraft. The decision for serial production of the Hurjet was taken at a Jan. 12 meeting of Turkey’s ultimate decision-maker on defense procurement, the Defence Industry Executive Committee. The meeting was …

If he thinks supporting the Kingdom’s efforts to take territory will help achieve a ceasefire, he’s likely in for a surprise. Recent weeks have witnessed a string of victories for forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, or IRG, and its Saudi and Emirati backers. Last week, the UAE-funded al-Amaliqa …

The Syrian army backed by pro-government factions, including the National Defense Forces (NDF), kicked off a new combing operation in the southern countryside of Deir Ezzor. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the operation is meant to secure the area of al-Duwair, which is located between the …

A senior Fatah delegation visited Syria, carrying a message from President Mahmoud Abbas to his Syrian counterpart about the need to bring the Palestinian cause back on the table in the run-up to the Arab summit scheduled to take place in Algeria in March. The Syrian government headed by President …

Tensions between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, and Turkish-backed Syrian factions are escalating once again. The Azm Operations Room, which brings together a number of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions, accuses HTS of planning to enter FSA-held areas in north Syria. Most recently, Sheikh Ahmed …

Fighting is intensifying around the Yemeni city of Marib since government forces captured neighboring Shabwa province last week. Reuters reported today that a pro-Yemeni government militia backed by the United Arab Emirates known as the Giants Brigade has joined the fight at Marib to push back Houthi rebel forces attempting …

The SDF has transferred another group of IS suspects with Iraqi nationality but arrested in Syria, alongside some of the thousands of Iraqis in al-Hol camp, to Iraq as the potential for jailbreaks remains high. Fifty Iraqi men suspected of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) and who had been …

In retaliation for a mysterious explosion along the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkey hit several Kurdish positions in the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobani in an attack that the Kurds call a “war rehearsal” aiming to test the water. Turkey appears to be aiming to maintain high tensions in northeast Syria through …

The idea of bailing out Lebanon’s elites to keep Iranian gas off the streets of Beirut may not come to pass because of its complexity. The US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs has denied a claim there was a secret deal that would see Israel supply gas to …

An emboldened nuclear Iran would increase its involvement in terrorism and subversive activity across the globe. In July 2009, six months after president Barack Obama was elected, I was invited to the White House by a senior US official. He asked for my opinion regarding the possibility of an Israeli …