Middle Orient

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 …

Abu Dhabi targeted by drones, three fuel tankers and a storage facility damaged • Saudi-led coalition blocks drone attack in Saudi Arabia Three people were killed and six were injured in a drone attack on the United Arab Emirates that occurred Monday morning and that Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed …

Iran is closer than ever to being able to build a nuclear weapon. After President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran began enriching uranium to higher levels and stockpiling more of it. As a result, Iran now has the capacity to make enough fissile material for …

A decision by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement to end a boycott of Lebanon’s Cabinet has led to speculation that Iran is making moves to control Lebanon’s political system. Lebanese Forces MP Ziad Hawat said: “The order came from Tehran, so the ‘disruption duo’ decided to set the Cabinet meetings …

On 23 December 2021, Iran’s Foreign Minister (FM) Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, while addressing a joint press meet with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein hailed the efforts made by the Iraqi government to clear misunderstandings between Iran and Saudi Arabia.1 Abdollahian declared that Tehran would participate in the next round of talks …

As Arab states prepare to reconvene this March for the 37th Arab League Summit in Algiers, one topic looms large over the agenda: the readmission of Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, expelled in 2011. An increasing number of regional players have thrown weight behind Syria’s return, both traditional Syrian allies like Algeria …

On Jan. 6, 2019, the eve of Orthodox Christmas, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul awarded a decree of independence, known as a tomos, to the then-newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine — a milestone in the country’s history. The move reversed a 1686 decision that had transferred jurisdiction over Kyivan …