Middle Orient

It might seem like an all-too familiar story: With its economy cratered by civil war, and new pockets of anti-regime resistance, Syria is on the verge of state collapse. President Bashar al-Assad isn’t just on the back foot; he is weaker than ever. Is he about to fall?

BAGHDAD—The Islamic State is stepping up its attacks in Iraq, fulfilling the expectations of many analysts that the extremist group would mount a comeback after the Iraqi government declared victory over it in 2017.

Imagine a different Middle East. “Were all outstanding hostilities resolved, border formalities simplified and roads unblocked, one might breakfast beside the Mediterranean in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, drive up to the Syrian capital of Damascus for lunch, race south to Jordan’s Amman for tea, make Jerusalem for an early …

Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the international deal designed to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, the time it might take Tehran to build such a weapon if it so chooses has dropped from more than a year to just a few months. The world …

The devastating explosion that tore through Beirut earlier this month exposed the elite corruption at the heart of Lebanese governance. The blast itself, which was almost certainly caused by a stockpile of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had sat unguarded at Beirut’s port since 2013, may not have been deliberate.

The struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for dominance in the Middle East has insinuated itself into nearly every regional issue, fracturing international alliances and sustaining wars across the region, while raising fears of a direct conflict between the two powers.

A recently published report estimated the size of the losses suffered by the Syrian economy during the last eight years, at more than 400 billion dollars. The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in cooperation with St. Andrews University in the UK, issued a report in which it …

The Russian-backed “Fifth Corps” have carried out an inspection campaign after some of the Corps’ members were targeted in Busra. As crimes and assassinations continue in Southern Syria, Busra – which is the stronghold of the Fifth Corps – witnessed the first assassination attempt of a prominent leader last Saturday, …

Media sources revealed that the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia has been supplying the Assad regime with 500 trucks of oil per day, despite the Caesar Act, under which the US imposed sanctions on the Assad regime last June.

Following recent altercations, Russia and the US have reinforced their numbers in northeastern Syria, to secure their positions and prevent further clashes writes Baladi News. Russia and the US have strengthened their forces in northeastern Syria over the past few days. Russian military reinforcements arrived in Hassakeh via the Qamishli …