Middle Orient

By removing Hezbollah from its terror list, the Arab League has sent a message to Iran and its terror proxies that they have a green light to pursue their terrorist attackers not only against Israel, but also against some of the Arab countries, especially the Gulf states. Many Lebanese citizens …

Elections in Iran are neither free nor fair, but they can still surprise. The election of reformist veteran lawmaker Masud Pezeshkian as Iran’s new president is one of those surprises. Pezeshkian beat his ultraconservative rival Saeed Jalili in a runoff vote on July 5, winning more than 16.3 million votes …

In a significant turn of events, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has emerged victorious in Iran’s presidential election, defeating his hard-line rival, Saeed Jalili. The results were announced after Pezeshkian secured 53.3 percent of the more than 30 million votes counted, compared with Jalili’s 44.3 percent. This pivotal vote comes at …

The history of Jews in the majority-Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeast Syria is less ancient than in other Kurdish regions across the Middle East. It is not even comparable to that of the Jewish communities in Aleppo and Damascus. However, not only did this small community play a central …

Ongoing operations have forced nearly 602 villages in Duhok province to evacuate, with villagers fleeing in fear of Turkish army shelling. The Turkish military has advanced 15 kilometers deep into Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of villages, according to a conflict …

On June 24, 2024, the Istanbul-based Syria.tv network, which supports the Syrian opposition, published[1] an article about the Syrian regime’s drug production and trafficking methods. This report is based on the article. Syrian Regime Increases Domestic Drug Trafficking After Decline In Smuggling The article reports that the Assad regime’s network …

The party’s campaign highlighted the importance of resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict. A radical shift in the United Kingdom’s Middle East policy is unlikely under the newly elected Labour government, though internal party rifts over the war in Gaza will mean the party will approach the region differently from the Conservatives. …

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan, where both leaders attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.Erdoğan invited Putin to Turkey, and Putin accepted the invitation during their meeting. The anticipated visit of the Russian president this spring was postponed. …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey stands in solidarity with Lebanon as tensions with Israel rise and called on regional countries to also support Beirut. Cross-border hostilities between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have escalated in recent weeks, fueling fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. Shelling …

Moderate politician Masoud Pezeshkian won the Iranian presidential runoff election on July 5.[i] Iranian media reported that Pezeshkian received over 16 million votes, while his opponent, ultraconservative hardliner Saeed Jalili, received approximately 13.5 million votes.[ii] Pezeshkian and Jalili won approximately 10.4 million and 9.5 million votes respectively in the first …