Middle Orient

After surrounding the town and cutting off roads to and from the area, the Syrian army has enter al-Karak in search of militant sleeper cells reports Al-Masdar. The Syrian army entered the town of al-Karak on Thursday, following a string of recent attacks by militant sleeper cells against the military …

Turkey is touting its domestic defence industry, but its expansion remains dependent on Western know-how. Acall by Greece last month for its European Union partners to consider an arms embargo on Turkey in a standoff over maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean has highlighted the growing collaboration between the Turkish …

It is generally believed that Islam is a backward religion, reinforcing the beliefs of medieval period, if not of the ancient period, it is conservative and even fundamentalist in its outlook, and it motivates its followers to be intolerant and violent. Islam, it is further believed, is incompatible with modern …

Turkey took offense at a U.S. statement that said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would promote religious freedom during an upcoming visit to Istanbul and called Wednesday on Washington to focus on racism and hate crimes in the United States instead.

Turkey is ready to discuss U.S. concerns about the technical compatibility of Russian S-400 defences and U.S.-made F-35 jets, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday, repeating Ankara’s proposal for a joint working group with Washington on the issue.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria issued a statement attacking Iran and its role in the Syrian conflict, and disavowed terrorist operations as well as extremism and takfir. The group said in its statement, issued on Tuesday and published on its official Facebook page, that it repudiates the Safavid dynasty and …

Ankara’s intervention was paramount in turning the tide of the Libya conflict, bringing the 14-month assault on the capital launched by the self-styled Libyan National Army, Egypt’s primary ally, to a close in June. In July, in the middle of contentious tripartite negotiations over an Ethiopian mega-dam that would determine …

Some analysts say the Turkish president felt compelled to sacrifice his son-in-law to save what could be saved. The sudden resignation of Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak announced the end of the model that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to impose, which is based on replacing those who are politically …

The labeled terrorist organization [Muslim Brotherhood] said, with a straight face, that it “wishes Mr. Biden, the American people, and the peoples of the whole world to continue to live in dignity under the principles of freedom, justice, democracy and respect for human rights.”

Several Senate races remain undecided. If Republicans maintain their majority, it could complicate President-elect Joe Biden’s Iran policy. A few undetermined election results are holding the future of the US Senate hostage. The Middle East policy of the incoming Joe Biden administration depends on whether Republicans are able to maintain …