Middle Orient

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are sending military reinforcements to Tel Rifaat to confront any possible military operation that the Turkish army and the Turkish-backed Free Syria Army may launch. The Syrian government forces and their affiliated militias are still deploying military reinforcements in Tel Rifaat, which is under the …

Al-Sadr’s party controls 70 of a total 329 parliamentary seats in Iraq and the movement has a large base across country. Muqtada al-Sadr remains one of Iraq’s most influential political figures and plays a pivotal role when it comes to the country’s future. He is currently considered the kingmaker, but …

Police said the ISIL attackers used several vehicles and semi-automatic guns in their attack. At least 11 people have been killed and others wounded in an ISIL (ISIS) attack on a village in Diyala province in eastern Iraq, according to the country’s security forces. The attack on Tuesday targeted “defenceless …

Speculation has been rife American forces would withdrawal from Syria after the Afghanistan pullout in an effort to end ‘forever wars’. The United States will not be withdrawing its roughly 900 troops from northeast Syria any time soon, despite mounting speculation it would do so following its much-maligned August pull-out …

Deploring the European parties’ failure to honor the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi cautioned against the approaches that could give the US the perception that Europe belongs in its sphere of influence. Although Iran has always honored its commitments, the European parties have failed to fulfill their …

An alleged US drone strike killed former ISIS commander Subhi Ibrahim Muslih and two of his guards in Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) on Monday, said Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) official Farhad Shami. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported that the strike’s target was a member of …

The Saudi government responded by describing Saad al-Jabri as “a discredited former government official with a long history of fabricating.” A former senior Saudi intelligence official has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of once bragging that he could have the late King Abdullah killed to pave the way for …

The Iranian government is concerned for the Shiite Muslim and Persian-speaking communities in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Iran will host Afghanistan’s neighbors for a conference on Wednesday. The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan will attend the meeting in the capital Tehran. China’s foreign minister will attend virtually. …

The Turkish media may be abuzz with reports about the foiling of a Mossad-run spy ring, but Israel appears unimpressed, and observers see no further deterioration in the already frosty bilateral relations. Amid an ongoing quest for normalization with Israel, Turkey last week dropped a bombshell about busting a Mossad …

The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army in north Syria announced a series of mergers recently, derailing plans by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to seek rapprochement with some of the factions affiliated with the Syrian National Army. The Azm Operations Room, which consists of a number of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions, …