Middle Orient

Twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens, officials said in what was the first massive bombing in years, harkening back to darker days of rampant militant attacks.

Syrian opposition groups worry that the Turkish withdrawal signals a coming military offensive. The opposition factions in Idlib confronted Jan. 14 a ground attack launched by the Syrian regime forces on al-Ankawi axis in al-Ghab Plain in northwest Hama that lies south of the strategic M4 highway.

The now former president pardoned the Israeli handler of American spy Jonathan Pollard as well as an Iranian-American man who was charged with violating Iran sanctions, among dozens of others.

A building in Ayn al-Arab belonging to the Kurdish National Council was attacked by unknown individuals, causing severe damage to the building reports SY-24.

Tehran claims there have been no informal preliminary talks with the incoming US administration, but signs of economic relief are already appearing in Tehran’s forex market.

Tuesday’s ground forces exercise followed naval and drone drills last week, as tensions with the United States continue. The Iranian army began a military drill in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday. Iran’s military has conducted several military exercises in the last few days at a time of heightened tensions …

President Hassan Rouhani appeared more upbeat on the prospects of the Iran nuclear deal on the day that Donald Trump departed from the White House. Donald Trump’s departure from the White House must have prompted a sigh of relief from his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, who declared the outgoing US …

Projectile, the third to target south in 2 days, said to land in open field; Israeli tanks strike Hamas terror group in response Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket at Israel Tuesday night, the military said in a statement after rocket sirens were sounded in the south …

An explosion Tuesday in an oil tanker outside a state fuel distribution company in central Syria caused a massive fire, state media reported. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. Video aired by state news agency SANA showed huge plumes of smoke and high flames rising in the …

Analysts expect the Joe Biden administration to take a harder stance than the Trump administration did on diverging US-Turkey policies, while noting Washington will also need to take pains to avoid alienating the key NATO ally.