Middle Orient

IDF concerned crisis in Lebanon could have repercussions along the border

411th Battalion Commander Lt.-Col. Raz Haimlich said that it “can go either way.” With the Lebanese economy in a free fall, the IDF is concerned there may be an increase of drug smuggling and infiltrations of migrant workers or refugees along the northern border. “The Lebanese economy is not good, …

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IDF requests billions in budget increase to boost Iran attack capabilities

Israel considers Iran’s nuclear program as the number one concern. It would take one year to make a nuclear bomb – intel reports. The Israeli military has reportedly asked for a major budget increase so that it can strengthen its attack capabilities should it need to attack Iran’s nuclear program. …

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Iranian dissidents to visit Israel next week – why?

Iranian expats support Israelis in light of the latest attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which are sponsored by Iran. A delegation of Iranian dissidents and expatriates plans to pay a solidarity visit to Israel next week with officials from the Trump administration. The mission is being organized by …

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IDF nabs dozens of Hamas activists after solidarity visit to terrorist’s village

Army says roughly 30 detained outside Turmus Aya are members of Hamas student faction at Birzeit University and include individuals directly involved in terrorist activity The IDF said it arrested dozens of Hamas activists Wednesday after they paid a solidarity visit to the West Bank village of a Palestinian man …

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Iraqi Shiite leader Sadr to sit out October election

Muqtada al-Sadr also said he would withdraw his support for the current government and its replacement. Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says he will boycott Iraq’s upcoming general election, announcing that he is withdrawing support from the current and future governments. “In order to preserve what is left of the …

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham kicks Chechen jihadis out of Idlib

After Hayat Tahrir al-Sham told the Chechen jihadi group Jund al-Sham it could either join its ranks or leave Idlib, the group’s members evacuated their military positions in the countryside of Latakia. Well-informed sources among jihadi groups told Al-Monitor that the Chechen Jund al-Sham (Soldiers of the Levant) group has …

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US says nuclear talks to continue, despite alleged Iran kidnapping plot

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is “ready to go” ahead with talks, after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the task of renegotiating the deal had been handed over to the next administration. The United States will continue to negotiate a mutual return to the landmark Iranian nuclear accord, …

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Has Turkey changed its anti-Islamic State strategy?

Although Turkish authorities have increased security operations against Islamic State cells in the country, Ankara’s anti-IS strategy remains riddled with gaping holes. Increasing security operations against Islamic State (IS) cells across Turkey since June have raised the question whether Ankara is changing its oft-criticized anti-IS strategy as the latest operations …

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Iran Drives Development of Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor

Back in 2016, Iran put forward a regional initiative to expand the Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor, which, in addition to the Islamic Republic itself, involves Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. This multimodal corridor begins from the Gulf and southern Iran, heads northward …

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Lebanon’s Hariri steps down as prime minister-designate pushing crisis-ridden country further into uncertainty

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has stepped down nearly nine months after he was tasked with forming the crisis-ridden country’s next government. On Thursday, Hariri told reporters that President Michel Aoun had not accepted his latest Cabinet lineup less than 24 hours after the three-time prime minister submitted the proposal. …

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