Middle Orient

The U.N. Human Right Council has passed a resolution aimed to intensify scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, after the U.N. rights chief said Israeli forces may have committed war crimes in their war with Hamas. The 11-day conflict killed at least 248 in Gaza, including 66 children and 39 …

Egypt, which brokered last week’s cease-fire that ended hostilities and between Israel and Hamas and also hosted Palestinian reconciliation talks earlier this year, hopes it can help put in place a long-term truce. Egypt is working to broker an additional agreement between Israel and Hamas following the recent fighting. Israeli …

Amid protests demanding justice after a series of assassinations, Iraqi security forces have arrested the commander of one prominent militant faction. A day after a major protest demanding greater accountability in Iraq, especially as concerns the unsolved murders of several activists, the commander of a faction affiliated with the Popular …

The EU has long played an active role in seeking an end to Israeli-Palestinian hostilities. Why has it lost this role? The European Union was once viewed as an important and credible actor in the Middle East, even a potential counterweight to the United States. No longer. During the recent …

The IDF worries about the simultaneous speeches this week of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas Gaza commander Yahya Sinwar, as both groups could launch simultaneous and coordinated attacks against Israel Israeli media described the two-hour address delivered May 25 by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as the “coughing speech.” Right …

The synergies between the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean theaters have grown substantially in recent years. Speaking at a meeting in Paphos, Cyprus in mid-April 2021 with his counterparts from Greece and Israel, as well as the former minister of state for foreign affairs of the UAE (now an advisor …

Turkey’s lira tumbled to a record low of 8.6 versus the dollar on Friday as it took a hit from global inflation concerns, expectations that the central bank will soon cut interest rates and worries over possible early elections. The lira — by far the weakest performer in emerging markets …

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made more detailed allegations about Iran’s secretive relationship with al-Qaida, rekindling a debate about how the United States should respond to the decades-old cooperation between its Mideast rival and the anti-American terrorist network. In an interview that aired Friday on VOA Persian’s …

Iraqi security forces arrested a senior paramilitary leader on Wednesday in a move that will raise tension with powerful Iran-backed militias accused of attacks on international troops and killing hundreds of protesters and activists. The arrest puts Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi’s loyalist security forces in the army and counter-terrorism …

The cease-fire that entered into force last Friday brought an end to 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas, leaving behind at least 248 Palestinian and 12 Israeli dead, as well as untold destruction in Gaza. Yet even as the fragile truce is holding thus far, the power struggle …