Middle Orient

Excerpts from a speech by Abdul Hakim Bashar, head of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria, in which he talks about the recent developments in Afghanistan. n view of the horror of recent tragic developments in Afghanistan, there are a few lessons that we as Syrians should learn from the …

Pakistan hopes to work with Iran in all areas to further strengthen bilateral ties, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said while speaking to the president of Iran, Seyed Ibrahim Raisi, in Tehran on Friday. According to a statement issued by Pakistan foreign ministry, Qureshi briefed Raisi on the ongoing …

The Syrian Observer sits with Kheder Khaddour, a researcher at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, focusing on local identities in the Levant and particularly in Syria, to discuss decentralization. Calls for decentralization in Syria have multiplied recently. While the Syrian Democratic Council referred to it as a …

Syrian regime forces shelled Daraa on Thursday as disagreements between the local negotiation committee and residents caused the truce to collapse. Syrian regime forces launched a flurry of rockets and artillery at the southern city of Daraa Al-Balad and surrounding towns on Thursday, as a deal to end a two-month …

While the Turkish opposition has been using public unhappiness over rising numbers of refugees from Afghanistan and other countries to challenge President Erdogan’s government, xenophobic violence has also been increasing. “Border equals honour” was the slogan on a huge banner that was hung from the façade of the headquarters of …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reception of the UAE national security adviser has raised the prospect of a reset in acrimonious bilateral ties. While President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with a senior Emirati official last week was a significant step toward thawing Turkey’s multifaceted feud with the United Arab Emirates …

Benny Gantz is delusional if he thinks that a diplomatic “Plan B” – to replace the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – is going to stop Iran’s nuclear weapon. Defense Minister Benny Gantz may very well be correct in his assessment, which he shared with 60 ambassadors in Tel Aviv …

What can be done is something far easier: have the government explain to the public what it is doing and what it wants to achieve; and not just when it comes to Iran, but also Gaza It was a coordinated assault.

Russian forces moved into an opposition enclave in the Syrian city of Deraa on Tuesday to try to avert an army assault on a stronghold that has defied state authority since it was retaken three years ago, witnesses, residents, and army sources said. Their entry brought a halt to shelling …

The government run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib imposed more measures to isolate its areas of influence in northwestern Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seems to be running an independent emirate in Idlib by imposing more measures that restrict the movement of goods and individuals. HTS has been designated …