Middle Orient

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a delegation led by Mossad Director David Barnea to Doha, Qatar on July 5 to continue ceasefire talks.[i] Barnea met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani on July 5 to build discussions on the ceasefire proposal Hamas submitted to Israel on …

While persuading Iran to roll back its nuclear programme at this stage may be difficult, the US and its allies can and should seek to reinforce Tehran’s perception that a decision to weaponise the programme would increase Iranian isolation and insecurity. In recent months, unsettling rhetoric from senior Iranian individuals …

Analysis: While Turkey has halted all trade with Israel amid the Gaza war, Azerbaijan continues to supply Tel Aviv with oil. Amid global attention on pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the world, notably on US university campuses, another significant boycott campaign has been brewing in Turkey, albeit against Azerbaijan’s ties with Israel. …

A decade since the Islamic State declared its ‘caliphate’ in Iraq and Syria, its legacy of violence continues to shape the country’s path towards recovery. On 29 June 2014, the Islamic State (IS) declared a “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, appointing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as their leader, a declaration deemed …

Like a wounded animal, vicious but aimless, Israel is lashing out at Lebanon. But, as Emad Moussa writes, Hezbollah won’t be deterred by wider regional war. The prospect of an all-out war between Israel and Lebanon reached new heights on July 3 after the Israeli army assassinated senior Hezbollah commander, …

In-depth: Over 20,000 children in Gaza are lost, detained, disappeared, or buried in mass graves or under rubble amid Israel’s relentless war. A report published by British aid group Save the Children last week found that up to 21,000 children are estimated to be missing in Gaza, with at least …

In-depth: A quiet move to transfer power over the West Bank from military to civilian officials amounts to a formal annexation of the Palestinian territory. Israel’s Civil Administration, the governing military body in the West Bank, quietly transferred power in May to a civilian official under far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich …

Recent Iranian polls show that moderate Masoud Pezeshkian is leading over ultraconservative hardliner Saeed Jalili in the Iranian presidential race.[i] The runoff election will occur on July 5. The Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) published a poll on July 4 showing that Pezeshkian has a 5.6 percent lead over Jalili.[ii] …

Russia announced that an American “Typhoon” fighter jet approached one of its aircraft “dangerously” over the skies of Syria, marking the first incident Russia has announced since halting air traffic coordination with the United States. The Deputy Head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, Major General Yuri Popov, stated …

There seems to be a hidden hand that pushes the players, and not anyone you would think of at first. Over the last few months, we are witnessing a long line of assassinations of mainly top operatives, allegedly performed by Israeli units, acting in Lebanon, Syria and Iran. This should …