Middle Orient

Azerbaijan deployed thousands of mercenaries in last year’s 44-day war that it and Turkey waged against Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia. Azerbaijan thereby flagrantly violated the UN’s International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (UNMERC) which it signed in 1997. Forty-six countries have signed UNMERC including Belgium, Cyprus, …

Ambassador William Burns said that China is the biggest challenge for the United States, but that Iran and Russia cannot be overlooked. CIA Director nominee William Burns said Iran cannot be overlooked, but advocated for a focus on China during his nomination hearing Wednesday. Burns, who was nominated for the …

The Fatemiyoun Brigade and the Iranian militias have beefed up their presence in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria by bringing in more Syrian elements into their ranks and intensifying their religious, military and cultural activities in order to expand and preserve their interests. Iranian forces and affiliated militias in …

Moscow played a central role in the release of the Israeli woman who crossed the border into Syria, but might prove less helpful on Iranian entrenchment in Syria or the Palestinian issue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prides himself of his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last week, …

The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has been sanctioning private schools and institutes in its areas of control in northeast Syria and arresting teachers for not following the Kurdish curriculum in their educational systems. The education crisis has been exacerbating in the areas under the control of …

Egypt seeks to strengthen its ties with Burundi and the Nile Basin countries in a bid to curb Turkey’s expansion in East Africa, to protect its national security from any threats. As a foreign policy priority for Cairo, Egypt seeks to strengthen its ties with Burundi and the Nile Basin …

Gen. Kenneth “‘Frank” McKenzie warned Iran in the boldest statement yet from the Biden administration over the attacks. The top commander of US military forces in the Middle East issued a subtle but unmistakable warning to Iran today over recent projectile attacks on Iraq’s Kurdistan region and Saudi Arabia. CENTCOM …

The two countries are set for renewed talks over Aegean maritime zones in early March. Turkey accused Greece’s air force of harassing a Turkish research ship in the Aegean Sea this week ahead of renewed talks over the two countries’ ongoing maritime dispute. Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Greek F-16s approached …

Turkey’s government goes on the defensive as the main opposition presses for answers on how the central bank ended up with negative reserves. Turkey’s main opposition has mounted an emphatic campaign calling the government to account on why the central bank burnt through $128 billion in foreign reserves in “back-door” …

Human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni described a German court’s decision to jail a former intelligence officer from the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria for four-and-a-half years in jail as historic. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Bunni said that the officer who was convicted for complicity in crimes against humanity still enjoys …