Middle Orient

Israeli F-35s taking part in joint exercise with US, Italy, Britain

Israeli F-35 stealth fighter jets are taking part in a large-scale drill in Italy, marking the first time that the fifth generation plane has been deployed outside of Israel for drills. The IAF jets that took off from Israel on Thursday, will participate in the two-week-long Falcon Strike 2021 drill …

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What is the anti-Netanyahu bloc’s timetable for forming a new government?

The coalition formed by Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid and Yamina head and Prime Minister-elect Naftali Bennett is expected to swear in on Wednesday. Here is the full plan: Sunday or Monday Yamina MK Nir Orbach to announce whether he will vote for the government, or quit his Knesset seat. …

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US concerned after Turkey attacks refugee camp

In recent months, Turkey has increased its presence in northern Iraq. It has been accused of deforestation and depopulation of villages, including minority Christian villages. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed concern on Saturday over Turkey’s airstrikes on a refugee camp in Iraq. It is the latest Turkish …

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Once Bitten, Twice Shy: The UK Must Provide a Credible Plan for Economic Engagement with Iran

Previous disappointment will lead Iran to expect greater economic certainty in any renewed nuclear negotiations. London must play its part. The Iranian nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the JCPOA) has been in tatters since the administration of Donald Trump withdrew in May 2018, …

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The nascent Israeli government: The thread that binds?

There is only one thread holding together the unprecedentedly disparate parties that will establish and support the nascent Israeli government announced on the night of June 2, an hour before the midnight deadline. That thread is, of course, a shared loathing for Benjamin (“Bibi”) Netanyahu, who has served an unprece­dented …

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Welcome to the “New Normal”: Non-State Actors and the Use of Drones

Non-state actors that enjoy state-sponsored assistance in developing drone capabilities are a major concern for the international community. A range of non-state actors has used drones in combat, including ISIS, Hezbollah, Houthi rebels, Hamas, Boko Haram, and the Afghan Taliban, among others. Echoing a commonly growing sentiment, the U.S. military …

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Iran Leadership Race Takes Shape and Favors Loyalist

The regime has shaped the field of candidates in the June 18 presidential election to favor the preferred choice of Iran’s Supreme Leader. The front-runner in the campaign, Judiciary chairman Ibrahim Raisi, is also Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’i’s choice to succeed him. The exclusion of most moderate and reformist candidates …

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Illegal UN Sham Partition Torching Palestine Into Civil War a USA-UK Colonial Crime Against Humanity

The murderous founding of the state of Israel at the cost of Arab and Jewish lives was brought about by the torching of Palestine into permanent civil war precipitated by an illegal and sham incendiary partition resolution forced through a incomplete incipient UN by American pressure and threats.[1] The resolution …

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Iran Regime Doing All It Can To Ensure Raisi Becomes President – OpEd

In spite of the Iranian regime’s claims that it holds democratic presidential elections, the system is fundamentally an authoritarian one disguised as a democracy. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in February boasted about the regime’s political system and the people’s important role in influencing and shaping the political establishment. He said: …

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