Middle Orient

Late last week, deadly clashes erupted in Lebanon, resulting in at least seven dead and thirty wounded. Lebanon is in the throes of what some experts have labeled “state collapse,” as the economy bottoms out and images evoking the country’s fifteen-year civil war play out on television and social media. …

Iraq’s election on October 10 saw the lowest voter turnout of any of its six polls since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country. All the same the results met one of the major demands of the young activists who had pressed for early elections, and then urged a voter …

The foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey talked about collective efforts to ensure stability and fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, as Tehran is going to host a ministerial meeting of the Afghan neighbors next week. In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Turkish counterpart …

Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric whose Mahdi Army followers battled U.S. forces during the years of the occupation, made big gains in Iraq’s parliamentary election on October 10. His victory could pose problems for the United States and Iran. But despite the Sadrist List’s electoral success, it is not a …

The exercise was held at a time of intensifying hostile rhetoric between Tehran and Baku, as Russia continues its cautious position in between. The air force of the Iranian army launched a major drill on Oct. 21 involving several bases nationwide, the latest in a series of muscle-flexing gestures by …

The meeting in Sochi between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin covered a large range of strategic and economic issues, focusing on Israeli concerns over Iranian military entrenchment in Syria and the Iran nuclear talks. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met today, Oct. 22, in Sochi with Russian …

The timing and extent of the anticipated operation against Syrian Kurdish forces are still uncertain and will likely depend on Ankara’s weighing of tradeoffs with Washington and Moscow. Following a spate of rocket attacks in areas of northern Syria under the control of Turkish-backed groups, Ankara is telling its Syrian …

A military outpost in southern Syria was hit by a coordinated attack on Wednesday, but U.S. officials said no American troops stationed there were injured or killed. Initial reports said the attack appeared to include two drone strikes and a small number of rockets. One official said one of the …

The United States military base at Al-Tanf in Syria was targeted with a “deliberate and coordinated” on Wednesday at approximately 7 p.m., according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The base was hit by drones and indirect mortar and rocket fire. There were no casualties among the U.S. troops stationed …

Two former German soldiers have been arrested on suspicion of trying to form a terrorist mercenary force to fight in Yemen’s civil war, prosecutors say. Arend-Adolf G and Achim A face terrorism charges after police raids in southern Germany on Wednesday. They allegedly planned to recruit up to 150 men …