Middle Orient

At the White House on Monday, the Iraqi leader needs a guarantee that Biden won’t use Iraq’s independence as a pawn in negotiations with Iran. At a military parade in Baghdad in late June, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi saluted the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of largely Iranian-backed …

The re-election of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad illustrates the failure of Western policy thus far to achieve meaningful political change in Syria. Russia and Iran have benefitted strategically from their respective military support of the Assad government. The July 2021 renewal of a UN cross-border aid mechanism to opposition-held …

There is growing concern among the Lebanese and other Arabs that Iran is planning to exploit the severe political, economic and financial crisis in Lebanon to complete its takeover of the country. Iran already has a political and military presence in Lebanon through its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah. The current crisis, …

Iraqi Prime Minister Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and U.S. President Joe Biden are expected to announce the full withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of this year. The announcement is set to be made as Biden hosts Kadhimi at the White House today. While the U.S. …

The US has indicated that it will withdraw its “combat troops” from Iraq, but do they even exist? The US has indicated it will withdraw “combat troops” from Iraq. But it doesn’t have combat troops there, and pro-Iran militias have indicated they believe America is being misleading. The reports of …

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said that the explosion that killed 1 and injured 14 on Thursday took place in a warehouse used by Hamas for storing weapons. Palestinian factions and human rights organizations have called on Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups to stop storing weapons in residential areas …

Is Russia sending a message to Israel or to the US, or is someone else trying to create controversy? What is the goal of Iran here – or the Syrian regime or other regional powers? Russia could be moving to pressure Israel to stop airstrikes in Syria. Reports began to …

Moscow wields enormous influence in the middle east and is parked squarely on Israel’s doorstep in Syria. This presents a test for Israeli diplomacy. Much has been written since Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid came to power six weeks ago about how a new government presents …

An Iranian flotilla, including Sahand destroyer and Makran forward base ship, has arrived in Russia to participate in the naval parade on the occasion of Russian Navy Day, Iran’s envoy in Moscow said, On the invitation of the Russian Minister of Defense, Iran Army Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi …

An entire network that planned and executed a suicide bombing in Sadr City which killed dozens of people on Monday has been arrested, Iraq’s prime minister said on Saturday. A suicide bomber targeted shoppers in a crowded market in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad on the eve of Eid …