Middle Orient

The legislation states that it is US policy to prevent Iran and Iranian-aligned groups from acquiring UAVs that can be used in attacks against the US or allies. A bipartisan group of leading members from the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced the Stop Iranian Drones Act (SIDA) on Tuesday. According …

Negotiations between world powers and Iran to restore the 2015 nuclear deal resumed in Vienna for the first time in over five months. Iran took further steps to advance its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday, as Iranian diplomats said they won’t rush on negotiations with …

In reality, the Grey Wolves movement very much does exist. It has a long history of bloodbaths across Turkey and is now a growing movement across Europe as well as the South Caucasus. This ideology [Turanism, or the Greater Turkish homeland] believes in the superiority of a supposed Turkish race …

If Abbas is really interested in returning to the negotiating table with Israel, he needs to decide whether he is on the side of his peace partners in Israel or his political enemies in Hamas. Abbas needs to decide whether he belongs to the pro-peace camp in Israel and the …

Der türkische Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan fordert Europa heraus. Mit seiner Ermunterung hat ein türkisches Gericht am Freitag entschieden, den seit vier Jahren ohne Urteil inhaftierten Kulturförderer Osman Kavala weiter im Gefängnis zu halten. Der Europarat hatte für diesen Fall mit einem Ausschlussverfahren gegen die Türkei gedroht, das in der …

Iranian Mohammed Saeid Golabi was arrested in Kenya for coordinating a terror cell in Nairobi attacking both Israeli and local sites. An Iranian man, Mohammed Saeid Golabi, has been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of planning terror attacks against local and Israeli interests, according to an exclusive report in the …

Armed group ISIL still poses a threat in several provinces in Iraq with hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and roadside bombs. Five Peshmerga fighters were killed in an attack by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in northern Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Sunday. The attack – which also wounded …

Also, Al-Monitor’s on-the-ground reporting on the security situations in Syria and Iraq, including the impact of the Turkish lira crisis on Idlib. Islamic State ‘entrenched as low-level insurgency’ The most recent report from the Pentagon’s Inspector General on Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led diplomatic and military operation against the Islamic …

The SDF and the Coalition forces conducted “operations in Ar Raqqah Province resulting in the detention of a key Daesh (ISIS) facilitator” The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested an alleged ISIS facilitator in Raqqa in a joint operation with the US-led coalition on Tuesday. Today @cmoc_SDF and Coalition forces …

At home in Helsinki, Ilona Taimela scrolls through hundreds of WhatsApp chats with her former pupils — pictures of animals, maths sums and simple sentences in English and Finnish. Last year, the teacher gave lessons to Finnish children imprisoned about 3,000 kilometres away in Syria’s Al Hol displacement camp — …