Middle Orient

A Bahamas-flagged ship, the MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman yesterday, Reuters reported the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and a maritime security firm said today. The cause of the explosion is not clear.

“We will maintain our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, while seeking to further its integration with its neighbors and resuming our role as promoter of a viable two-state solution.” The Biden administration issued a warning to its allies in the Middle East not to oppose US policies and not to …

Where could the “bilateral cooperation continue,” as the Russian Foreign Ministry has indicated it might? On Iran, Russia sees US steps so far as pragmatic. Russia is signaling a willingness to open a new page in relations with the US as the new administration settles into power in Washington. TASS …

Many alleged Russia and the Syrian regime were behind the attack which appears aimed at denying Turkish-backed Syrian groups from trading oil. An unusual attack on oil facilities in Turkish-occupied northern Syria occurred on Friday evening. Locals reported large explosions near Al-Bab and Jarablus. Turkey invaded this area in the …

Sources in the Syrian opposition have revealed contacts between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and some of the Turkish-allied Free Syrian Army factions on security of the areas under the control of the FSA. Syrian opposition sources have revealed that contacts are taking place between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Free …

Iran’s foreign minister shot down comments by a senior politician who said Tehran would negotiate if the United States promises sanctions relief within a year.

In its struggle against all of the odds, Iran’s Reform movement says it is learning lessons from the past to avoid losing its last trench of power in the June presidential election. The more radical sectors of Iran’s embattled Reform movement say past experience has taught them not to “hire …

Iraq’s Nasiriyah has been the scene of violent protests recently, but calm has settled over the city with the prime minister’s efforts to calm it. Iraq’s southern city of Nasiriyah — recently the site of large anti-government protests — has largely escaped the attention of the international media, but that …

The Arab League last month resumed some of its activities in Damascus for the first time since November 2011, when the organization’s foreign ministers suspended Syria’s membership. As the 10-year anniversary of the Syrian civil war looms, many predict that, despite the great human cost of the conflict, the country …

Syrian intellectuals and activists from across political and intellectual spheres are busy searching for a way out of the disastrous situation their country has reached after ten years of violent conflict. The issue is not straightforward, and the exit is unclear, with everyone trying to feel their way out in …