Middle Orient

An assassination attempt on a member of the Popular Mobilization Units and the massacre of his wife and children have raised questions about security in the Iraqi capital amid continuing US-Iran geopolitical tension in the region. An attempted assassination on Jan. 6 of a member of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units …

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order to seize more than $800,000 on cryptocurrency on its way to Hamas, but a spokesperson for the movement said that the Israeli announcement was exaggerated. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order to seize 2.6 million shekels ($830,000) in cryptocurrency on …

Following normalization with the UAE in November, Erdogan plans to pursue reconciliation with Saudi Arabia next month, pressed by financial woes at home, as both sides appear ready to leave the Khashoggi affair behind. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is gearing up for a fence-mending visit to Saudi Arabia next …

At the onset, 2021 appeared to be another ordinary year, one of unrelenting Israeli occupation and continued Palestinian misery. While much of that remained true, the dynamics of the Israeli occupation of Palestine were challenged by an unprecedented sense of popular unity among Palestinians, not only in the occupied East …

Iraqi President Barham Salih on Wednesday praised assassinated Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis for their role in defeating ISIS but called for national unity to avoid repeating the mistakes that allowed the terror group to overrun large areas of the country. The two …

Islamic State is applying Sharia rules in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor and imposing taxes on residents by force of arms. The Islamic State (IS) carries out almost daily operations in Deir ez-Zor against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the civilians it accuses of cooperating with the …

Iran and Iraq transportation ministries signed a document setting a roadmap for implementation of Basra-Shalamcheh railway connection, which should boost economic activity for both countries. The transportation ministers of Iran and Iraq have signed a memorandum of understanding to build the Shalamcheh-Basra railway and Shatt al-Arab bridge. The agreement includes …

On the anniversary of the death of former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani and with the resumption of the nuclear talks in Vienna, Iran stakes out a hard line. An Arab diplomat who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity warned that for every day the talks aimed at reviving the …

A spate of attacks this week on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria were probably conducted by Iran-backed militias, the Pentagon said Wednesday, stopping short of directly implicating Tehran. There is a “working level assumption” that incidents every day this week, including rocket attacks and incursions from explosives-laden …

Like other foreign powers, Turkey was caught off-guard by the speed of the Taliban’s recent blitz across the country, which has greatly complicated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans. While most NATO countries were happy to wash their hands of the conflict after a grueling 20-year counterinsurgency and nation-building effort, …