Middle Orient

A Syrian opposition member claimed that Syria is working on a nuclear reactor in northwestern Syria. Syrian opposition member and former parliamentary member Mohammad Barmo claimed that North Korea and Iran were helping develop a nuclear reactor in Syria, the latest in a series of similar reports in recent years, …

According to the report, the US-Israeli preparations underscore Western concern about the nuclear talks potentially reaching a dead end. Stop the presses. After almost a year of declining to put any real pressure on Iran, the US leaked a real military threat on Wednesday for the first time. Or did …

The Basra explosion caused by a booby-trapped motorcycle was aimed to assassinate an Iraqi investigative officer in charge of the militia’s illegal activities in the province. In an unprecedented event, a terrorist explosion caused by a motorcycle hit the southern city of Basra on Dec. 7. At least four were …

Mustafa al-Kadhimi met with Kurdistan Region security forces in disputed Makhmour. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited a northern village today that was recently attacked by the Islamic State (IS). Kadhimi went to the village of Liheban in the Makhmour district to meet local residents, his office tweeted. The Islamic …

Ankara has made sweeping arrests of suspected Islamic State militants. Turkish authorities arrested dozens of alleged Islamic State militants today. Police arrested 11 people in Istanbul and 22 in Ankara. There police are searching for eight other individuals in Ankara. The suspects, all foreign nationals, are alleged to have been …

Lebanon is witnessing one of the biggest waves of emigration in its history as the country faces its worst socio-economic conditions amid a worsening political crisis; Turkey, Armenia and Georgia have become new destinations. Western European countries, the United States, Australia and Gulf states have been Lebanese’s top migration destinations …

Erdogan’s Qatar visit failed to produce agreements that could help the ailing Turkish economy, but he wants to maintain Turkey’s partnership with Qatar, including military ties, while making efforts to reconcile with Gulf rivals. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has paid a visit to Qatar – a country he sees …

The vote wasn’t even close. On December 7, the US Senate voted 30-67 against a joint resolution (S.J. Res. 31) which would have blocked a $650 million US arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Only two Republicans voted in favor of the resolution: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Senator Mike …

Introduction Iran’s show of strength in the October 2, 2021 “Conquerors of Khaybar” exercise at its border with Azerbaijan and its threats to play the ethnic card to stir up the Shi’ite populations in neighboring countries against their regimes failed to improve its damaged geopolitical standing, Iran turned to the …

Of all the Iraqi religious scholars turned politicians, Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr is the most controversial, bold and charismatic. He comes from a family that has stood up to oppressive regimes on nationalistic grounds. At 47, he is still young and relatively inexperienced. Once an ally of Iran, he is …