Middle Orient

Assad is still there, a pyrrhic victor offering no credible prospects of reconciliation for the Syrian people and exercising limited sovereignty over a land left prey to foreign powers. After a decade of unfathomable violence and human tragedy that has made Syria the defining war of the early 21st century, …

If Turkey targets Sinjar, it will not be the first Turkish military assault against the region. In 2017, Turkish warplanes dropped bombs on Sinjar, hitting a civilian clinic. “‘[A]nalysts should understand that the fundamental reason that Yezidis join military units is to defend the land from a genocidal invasion…. no …

“One tank, in its firepower, equals a company of infantry soldiers.” As the IDF closely follows Hezbollah’s moves behind the northern border, the 71st Armored Battalion is completing its readiness for a possible confrontation in Lebanon.

In seventh mission into CENTCOM’s area of operation in the last four months Israeli Air Force F-15s accompany B-52 heavy bomber over Israel. In a clear signal to Iran, a United States Air Force B-52H “Stratofortress” bomber flew over the Persian Gulf, before the plane was spotted in Israeli airspace …

An elite regime fighting force has retreated from Yarmouk Palestinian camp south of Damascus, writes Sowt Al-Asima. Two days ago, the government’s 4th Division withdrew the last group of its fighters stationed in the areas of Yarmouk Camp and Al-Hajar al-Aswad, south of the capital, Damascus. Sawt Al-Asima sources said …

Iranian militia groups have active cells operating in the US capital Washington DC and other US cities, according to chatrooms used by the groups. Kawtheryoon Electronic Team, a Telegram network used by Iranian militia groups and supporters, claimed in a recent posting that Iranian “resistance cells are rooted even in …

A captured Russian-built missile defence system which was reported last month to have been taken by the US military is now said to have been shared between the US and Turkey, according to Libyan officials. In a report last month by the Times in London, the truck-mounted Pantsir S-1 missile …

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 …