Middle Orient

Netanyahu Should Work With Biden, Not Against Him In a surprise announcement on May 31, U.S. President Joe Biden outlined a road map for “an enduring cease-fire [in the Gaza Strip] and the release of all hostages.” The plan, he declared, had been authored by Israel, and he urged Hamas …

And China Is Reaping the Benefits October 7, 2023, was a watershed moment not just for Israel but for the Arab world. Hamas’s horrific attack occurred just as a new order appeared to be emerging in the region. Three years earlier, four members of the Arab League—Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and …

Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday they have arrested an “American-Israeli spy cell”, a few days after the Iran-backed group detained about a dozen United Nations personnel. The alleged cell included former staff of the U.S. embassy in Yemen, according to a television statement from Abdel Hakim Al Khaiwani, the Houthis’ …

Israel has intensified covert strikes in Syria against weapons sites, supply routes and Iranian-linked commanders, seven regional officials and diplomats said, ahead of a threatened full-scale assault on Tehran’s key ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. A June 2 air raid that killed 18 people, including an adviser with Iran’s elite Revolutionary …

Fidan’s attendance at the BRICS+ summit comes at a time when Turkey’s dismay with the European Union is growing over pending resumption of the modernization of the Customs Union Treaty. ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Sergei Shoigu in Moscow …

Iran’s hard-liners controlled all levers of powers in the Islamic republic during Ebrahim Raisi’s presidency. Despite Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash last month, hard-liners are expected to maintain their dominance as Iranians head to the polls to elect the ultraconservative president’s successor. The powerful Guardians Council on June 9 …

Hamas issued new demands in the ceasefire negotiations with Israel on June 11. Hamas made the demands in response to the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal.[i] The demands include determining timelines for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. An unspecified senior Biden administration …

The Iranian Guardian Council approved a pool of six candidates that included mostly hardliners for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. The six approved candidates include five hardliners and one reformist on June 9 for the upcoming presidential election.[i] The Iranian regime likely approved the sole reformist candidate to feign political …

Israeli War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz resigned from the coalition government on June 9.[1] Gantz said he resigned because of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip, which he believes is ”preventing [Israel] from reaching true victory.”[2] Gantz called for Netanyahu to set an …

Israeli forces rescued four Hamas-held hostages during a complex operation in the central Gaza Strip.[1] Hamas captured the four hostages from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attack.[2] This marks the second successful rescue of living hostages by Israel during the war.[3] Israeli forces engaged Palestinian fighters during …