Middle Orient

The Iranian city of Saravan is reeling after security forces shot several unemployed locals who earn a living by trading untaxed fuel across the Pakistani border. Chaotic scenes and furious protests rocked the city of Saravan, in Iran’s impoverished southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, Feb. 23. Videos inundated social media showing …

The high-profile, Iran-backed militia denied responsibility for attacks on US targets in Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah, one of the largest Iran-backed militias in Iraq, publicly denied any involvement in a recent rocket strike on Erbil International Airport and Baghdad’s Green Zone. “We absolutely did not target Erbil or the Green Zone …

The report said US policy is outdated and has not led to security in the region. A leading American think tank has released a report urging the US government to prioritize development and good governance in the Middle East over security. The RAND Corporation report says the United States needs …

As Erdogan teeters between the West and the Russia-China axis, it will be his goal of securing his political future at home that determines which direction he takes. In a span of five days last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered two diametrically opposed messages to Washington, highlighting his …

A Pentagon official urged Ankara to take action over its Russian-made S-400 missile acquisition after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed interest in restoring bilateral ties. As the Turkish government attempts to recalibrate relations with the new US administration under President Joe Biden, its acquisition of Russian-made S-400 missile defense …

Iraq has argued that Syria should be reinstated to the Arab League, writes Al-Masdar. Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, stressed the need to return Syria to its seat in the Arab League while noting that this would achieve the principle of integration in Arab work and coordination. The Iraqi minister …

Foreign Ministry: “Without supervision, Iran will continue to act in the dark to promote its nuclear plan.” The IDF is preparing in case it needs to take action against Iran, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said at a graduate ceremony for new IDF officers on Wednesday. “The IDF is currently working …

On Wednesday, the Syrian regime forces found one of their fighters killed near the village of Jisreen in eastern Ghouta, Damascus countryside. The SY 24 correspondent in eastern Ghouta said, “the Presidential Guard, affiliated with the regime army, found the body of one of its members on the outskirts of …

Opposition group al-Fateh al-Mubin has sniped several government members in south Idleb, according to North Press. On Wednesday, the armed opposition groups targeted the Syrian government forces’ sites, and sniped several government members in areas of Idleb, northwestern Syria. Military sources told North Press that the al-Fateh al-Mubin operations room …

The UN nuclear watchdog said on February 23 that it is “deeply concerned” that Iran secretly kept “undeclared nuclear material” at an “undeclared location” as the agency warned that Tehran continued to exceed “many limits” set by its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.