Middle Orient

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, is refusing to sit down with al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din leaders to resolve pending disputes. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, is refusing calls from al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din (Guardians of Religion Organization) to resolve their differences through Sharia arbitration. “A …

Iraqi Sunnis are weighing whether to vote for candidates on a tribal or party-linked basis, try for independents or maybe not even vote at all. Baghdad streets were teeming by early September with billboards and posters bearing candidates’ faces and the numbers they will be associated with on ballots to …

The UAE deputy foreign minister’s address to the United Nations stirred up the territorial dispute, which has long been at the very core of tensions between the Arab state and the Islamic Republic. “The three islands are inseparable swaths of Iranian territory and any claim on them is vehemently rejected,” …

Top generals in charge of Turkey’s military operations in Syria have sought retirement amid escalating tensions in Idlib, fueling questions over Ankara’s Syria policies. Turkey was rattled last week by reports that five generals serving on Syria-related missions were seeking to resign, including the head of a command center in …

To win the next election, Erdogan must change the election laws but also find more popular political allies. His AKP party’s current coalition with the ultra-nationalists is becoming a liability for his goal of re-election in 2023. Since the last elections in 2019, two debates have dominated the Turkish political …

Erdogan’s failure to achieve his goals in the high-profile meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin shows that Turkey’s balancing act with Russia and the United States is on the verge of a collapse. Having been trapped in its balancing act between Russia and the United States, Turkish diplomacy is trying …

U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had a detailed discussion about the war in Yemen on Tuesday in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior administration official said. The war, in which a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis, has devastated Yemen’s …

Jordan fully reopened its main border crossing with Syria on Wednesday, the first time that the Jaber border crossing has been fully open since the start of Syria’s decadelong civil war. Arab states had cut ties with Syria during its civil war, The crossing was partially opened in 2018 after …

New measures restrict the entry of Syrian patients to Turkey by canceling free treatment in its state hospitals and forcing them to pay the full cost of treatment. Turkey has recently suspended the issuance of the temporary protection ID card — known as Kimlik — for Syrian refugees who need …

Jordan closed the Jaber border crossing in August due to security concerns amid fighting in southern Syria. Jordan originally supported the Syrian opposition in the civil war but has moved closer to the government recently. Jordan will reopen its border crossing with southern Syria this week, Jordan’s Interior Ministry announced …