Middle Orient

Iran Ignores Demands by IAEA for Monitoring Extension

Iran has refused to engage with the United Nations’ watchdog tasked with monitoring its nuclear facilities, after an interim pact between the two that temporarily extended oversight over Iran’s activities following the Iranian parliament’s ending of a previous agreement, expired over the weekend. The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday …

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Iran president-elect takes hard line, refuses to meet Biden

Iran’s president-elect staked out a hard-line position Monday in his first remarks since his landslide election victory, rejecting the possibility of meeting with President Joe Biden or negotiating Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support of regional militias. The comments by Ebrahim Raisi offered a blunt preview of how Iran might …

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West Bank on Fire with Anti-Abbas Protests

Hundreds of Palestinians on Saturday held their third day of violent protests in the West Bank against the Palestinian Authority, following last week’s death of Nizar Banat, a well-known critic of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Banat reportedly died in custody after being violently arrested and beaten by Abbas’ security forces …

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Putin did not commit to renew Syria cross-border aid access -U.S. official

U.S. President Joe Biden did not secure a commitment from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday to renew a U.N. cross-border aid operation into Syria, a senior administration official said ahead of an expected showdown over the issue at the United Nations Security Council next month. Washington and several …

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Bennett appears to hint at Israeli involvement in attack on Iran nuclear site

In one of his first speeches as PM, leader says that while Israel will defend itself, it will also work with allies to block an Iranian bomb, breaking from Netanyahu’s policy Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appeared to hint at Israel’s role in a recent attack on an Iranian nuclear site …

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Games without Frontiers: Renegotiating the Boundaries of Power in Iraqi Kurdistan

Summary Over the past year, intensifying political and economic conflicts between the Kurdistan Region’s two hegemonic parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have challenged the legal and institutional order in which the Kurdistan Regional Government operates. A new generation of leadership within the parties, a …

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The Economics of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Introduction Over the past four years, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has tried to transform itself from a faction of the Global Jihad movement into the de facto local military and governing power in north-west (NW) Syria. This shift requires the group to seek sources of funding other than al-Qaeda and …

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The Hard-Liners Won in Iran. That’s Not All Bad News.

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that Iran’s elections are insignificant. Regardless of who wins, the argument goes, in the end, it’s the supreme leader who calls the shots. That is shortsighted. Yes, the coronation of Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi as president in one of the least competitive elections in …

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Selling Normalization in the Gulf

On August 13, 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) made headlines as the first Arab Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel. Its leadership framed the decision as a continuation of the UAE’s long-standing policy of support for the Palestinians, one that would bring them closer to statehood by halting …

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