Middle Orient

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 …

A US-based group of doctors conducted a detailed assessment of the region’s health sector in both Kurdish and rebel territory. An American nonprofit organization has warned that health care in northern Syria is experiencing severe difficulties. The New York-based Physicians for Human Rights nonprofit released a report in December 2021 …

At least three people were killed on Thursday in a series of explosions including two suspected suicide bombings in northwest Syria near the Turkish border, witnesses said, in the first such attacks this year. A rescue worker said one civilian was killed after an improvised explosive device went off in …

Four rockets were fired at the fortified compound that houses the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and suspicion fell on pro-Iran militias. Four rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night, the latest in a series of aerial attacks amid Iranian threats and political violence as Iraq’s factions struggle …

The Arab world is one of the most volatile regions in the world and plays a central role in global politics today. (1) With its great diversity of peoples, languages, and cultures, it is also home to the fastest-growing religion in the world: Islam. (2) Add to that immense socio-economic …

To borrow from that wiliest of ex-bishops turned statesmen, Charles de Talleyrand, George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq was worse than a crime: it was a mistake. Twenty years after 9/11, American military and foreign policy leaders are still struggling to resurrect something of the functionally stable balance of …

The Biden administration eased restrictions on aid groups working with the Syrian government in November. The United Nations has extended authorization to deliver aid from Turkey into Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province for another six months. Bab al-Hawa is the last Syrian border crossing authorized for direct aid deliveries into parts …

Mohammed al-Halbusi is Iraq’s speaker of parliament for a second term despite opposition from Shiite parties aligned with Iran. The first session of Iraq’s new parliament was held on Jan. 9. In that session, new parliament members voted that Mohammed al-Halbusi will serve a second term as speaker of the …