Middle Orient

Reported border clash worsens conflict between Kurdish factions in triangle where US, Turkish and Syrian and Iraqi Kurdish forces come into play. Tensions between the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have sharply escalated amid claims that a PKK-linked Syrian militia that is backed …

Iran’s supreme leader said revenge for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani is a definite plan, as he called on regional nations to push for the ouster of US forces.

TATNEFT Company suspended its operations in Libya following the revolution of 17 February, 2011 – NOC A Russian oil company intends to resume production and exploration operations in a number of sites in Syria and Libya, after its activities were halted following the events of the 17 February Revolution.

Military operations are still underway in scattered areas of the Syrian desert, as ISIS tries to inflect heavy human and material losses on regime forces through ambushes, explosions and surprise attacks. These military operations are concentrated in Aleppo-Hama-Al-Raqqah triangle, while fighting subsides in the deserts of Al-Raqqah, Homs and Deir …

Turkey will not reverse its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems and will take reciprocal steps after evaluating U.S. sanctions imposed over the acquisition, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the U.S. over its atomic program, according to satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

Turkey has evacuated seven military observation posts in northwest Syria, pulling back troops from territory controlled by the Syrian government to areas held by insurgents and Turkey-backed rebels, a Turkish source said on Friday.

Of all the pressing issues in the volatile Middle East—wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya, unstable Iraq, imploding Lebanon, and the 10,000 ISIS fighters and other al-Qaida franchises still on the loose—the most pressing for President-elect Joe Biden will be Iran’s controversial nuclear program. He has repeatedly promised to rejoin …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara will “take steps” to respond to the US sanctions unveiled this week. Turkey won’t back down from its purchase of Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile defense systems, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, adding that Ankara is weighing how to respond to …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi committed to enhanced cooperation on terrorism, trade and energy, although Turkey’s ongoing military operations in Iraqi Kurdistan may remain a source of contention between the two neighbors.