Middle Orient

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal Mekdad met on Thursday with the Iraqi Minister of Immigration and Displacement, Ivan Faiq Jabro. The two ministers discussed ways of joint cooperation between the two countries and the situation of the displaced in both countries. Mekdad stressed the importance of strengthening the relationship and …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Wednesday of the consequences of dividing Syria if Washington continues to encourage separatism in the war-torn country. Speaking at a special session of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s Middle East Conference, Lavrov said the frozen state of the Syrian conflict is fraught with …

Signs of a new border crisis have emerged between Lebanon and Syria, after the Syrian government signed a contract for oil exploration in the Mediterranean with a Russian company. The block to be explored intersects with Lebanese maritime areas for energy exploration along the northern border. Lebanon set the map …

An Iranian cargo plane arrived in Damascus International Airport late on Sunday, loaded with weapons, ammunition, and missiles, a well-informed source told Zaman Al-Wasl. The plane’s landing coincided with the mobilization of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) militia inside and outside the airport. The shipment was transferred immediately to the …

On Monday, the PYD-led Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK) in northern Syria said that the talks with the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) “have come a long way in order to reach a comprehensive agreement between the Kurdish political parties in north and east Syria.” A report released by …

The Fatemiyoun Brigade militias have arrested an officer and five other troops of the regime’s Fourth Division, after setting an ambush on the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway. The Fatemiyoun Brigade was wearing the regime’s army uniform. The operation came to avenge group militias who were arrested by the Fourth Division in early …

The timing question is whether the US wants to try to strike a deal with current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani before the June elections. The latest bizarre round of US-Iran non-negotiation through public statements around each other is about one thing: timing.

“Iran had 102 kilograms of enriched uranium when Trump took office; they have 2.5 tons of enriched uranium now.” US Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Ro Khanna, both Democrats, addressed the stalemate between the US and Iran regarding the return to the 2015 nuclear agreement and urged the administration “to …

Until now, Tehran’s position has been that there is no need for negotiations, rejecting three offers by the US to restart talks. Iran attempted to sound tough even as it buckled under the pressure of US nuclear diplomacy, and agreed to join renegotiations of the 2015 nuclear deal late Thursday.

Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash believes that the Biden administration will not rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal before the June Iranian presidential election. “Don’t worry, we are there in Iran; we will make sure they do not cross the line,” said senior Russian officials during a visit to Israel.