Middle Orient

In many aspects, the results of the Lebanese elections last Sunday were surprising. Not only because of the score achieved by the groups representing the 17th of October uprising, which were able to seize 14 out of the 128 seats in parliament, but also because voters eliminated many figures, central …

Iraqi writer Farouk Yousef pointed out that after the US gave Iran $90 billion following the signing of the nuclear agreement with the Obama administration in 2015… the bulk of the money… was spent on terrorist groups run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and …

Kui Eestile on selgemast selgem, et Soome ja Rootsi NATO-sse kuulumine on loomulik, siis Türgil nii pole. Selleks et ka Türgi annaks me põhjanaabrite NATO-sse astumisele heakskiidu, tuleb paraku pöörduda reaalpoliitikasse ning välja selgitada, mida Erdoğan oma heakskiidu eest vastu tahab, ja saada selle üle kaubeldes vajalik tulemus. Kas piisab …

In Washington, defense minister emphasizes need to ‘work closely and prepare for any future scenario,’ amid reports Tehran advancing nuclear program Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in the White House and thanked him for the Biden administration’s commitment to Israel’s security. Landing in …

Islamist terror group activists take 28 seats to Fatah’s 18, as PA’s ruling party sees its West Bank support and legitimacy dwindle Hamas activists won a landslide victory in student elections at the flagship Birzeit University north of Ramallah on Wednesday night, in a possible indicator of how West Bank …

The Biden administration is offering military support to bolster the defenses of Sweden and Finland against potential Russian actions as Turkey threatens to delay the two Nordic countries’ admission into the NATO alliance. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down with Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon on …

The Biden administration is offering military support to bolster the defenses of Sweden and Finland against potential Russian actions as Turkey threatens to delay the two Nordic countries’ admission into the NATO alliance. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down with Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon on …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s brinkmanship over Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO has put Turkey back at the top of the news. I provided some background, including a scoop on Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s bullying of his Swedish counterpart Anna Linde over her support for the US-backed …

The governments of Sweden and Finland have formally submitted their applications to join NATO after thorough discussion within their respective parliaments. The move will prove to be the latest and arguably the most significant development from the West in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I warmly welcome the requests …

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is trying to turn what appears to be the most strategic move in NATO’s history into carpet-trading at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. “The Russian-Kurdish nexus has been a recurring feature of Middle Eastern geopolitics for more than two hundred years, since Catherine the Great commissioned the publication …