Middle Orient

Police in Istanbul and Ankara detained at least 22 terrorist suspects linked to Daesh, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups as part of counterterrorism operations ahead of New Year’s Day. In Istanbul, police detained nine foreign nationals with links to al-Qaida and Daesh terrorists, Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported Monday. Operations …

Iran exports to Syria are increasing, a sign of an improving economic relation between the two countries. Tehran seems to have managed to improve its economic relations with Syria and achieve a steady rise in Iranian exports there. It continues its efforts to tighten control over Deir ez-Zor governorate, known …

Israeli leadership is coping not only with the question of military preparedness for the possibility of attacking the Iranian nuclear program, but also with the implications of such an attack on Israel’s homeland security, its economy and its growth. The extensive Dec. 18 New York Times write-up quoting serving and …

Turkey has made major economic and diplomatic strides in Africa since the early 2000s, but growing military sales to African countries raise the specter of a risky shift. Dozens of top African officials, including 12 presidents, two vice presidents, two premiers and 26 foreign ministers, flocked to Istanbul last week …

Ağustos ayında hükümetin 2022 baharında erken seçim hazırlığında olduğunu ifade etmiştim. Okuyuculardan da birçok uzmandan da 2022 Kasım ayından önce seçim olmayacağı tepkisi gelmişti. Bu tepkinin en temel nedeni ise o dönem üzerinde konuşulan Seçim Kanunu’nda değişiklik yapılması meselesiydi. Değişiklik yapıldıktan bir yıl sonrasına kadar yapılan değişiklikler uygulanamayacağı için Kasım …

Iraq has bombed Islamic State targets in the eastern Diyala province for the second month in a row. The Iraqi air force conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State today following a flurry of attacks. Iraqi pilots using US-made F-16 fighter jets struck IS outside of Sadiyah in the Diyala province …

The Islamic State core in Iraq and Syria continues to evolve and could be in the process of an operational evolution focused on fewer but more sophisticated attacks At present, it remains unclear just how closely involved central Islamic State leadership is with its global network on a regular basis. …

There are growing signs that countries in the Middle East are prepared to accept the normalization of Assad’s regime, even after the ten-year civil war in Syria. Many countries, including the U.S. and Qatar, have been outspoken in their opposition to normalizing relations with Assad, while the United Arab Emirates …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to the Gulf states ahead of the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit is intended to help rebuild his international reputation, sullied by his numerous missteps. With his stop in Qatar, MBS is also trying to continue healing the intra-GCC rift that began in …

Elite forces from the Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) arrested two ISIS arms smugglers in Erbil, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT), part of the US-led Coalition to Defeat ISIS. “Today the CTD conducted operations in the …