Middle Orient

On August 18, 2020, several days following the announcement of the normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel, which inter alia stated that all Muslims are permitted to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to pray there,[1] the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, issued a fatwa …

Two Lebanese government ministers are to be sanctioned by the US over their support for the Iran-backed Shia militia group Hezbollah and accusations of corruption.

The Islamic Republic is still looking to avenge the death of Qassem Soleimani, officials said. The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American ambassador to South Africa, U.S. intelligence reports say, according to a U.S. government official familiar with the issue and another official who has seen …

Ashraf Rifi, Lebanon’s former justice minister and one-time head of the country’s security forces, has told IranWire that the French government had worked to bring about a new government in Lebanon, measures that had included discussion with Iranian officials and Hezbollah. The talks, Rifi said, may well result in an …

“For whatever reason, they’re not that successful at hitting anyone,” Gen. Frank McKenzie says. “I don’t know how long we can count on that continuing.” More than eight months after a barrage of rockets killed an American contractor and wounded four American service members in Kirkuk, Iraq, militia groups continue …

On Friday, Syrian state-run news SANA reported that the Israelis conducted an airstrike in the suburbs outside of Aleppo in southern Syria. The target was the town of al-Safirah where the Syrians once had a major missile production facility. SANA quoted an unnamed military source who said that “at 1:30 …

During Haniyeh’s tour of Ain al-Hilweh, he said that the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip “possesses missiles to strike Tel Aviv and beyond Tel Aviv.” Arab political analysts…. also believe that Iran is preparing to use its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, to target Arab countries that establish relations with …

Israelis are delighted the government has reached another peace deal with an Arab country, this time Bahrain, following last month’s agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Analysts say the Gulf states see the deals as a way to discourage potential attacks from Iran. But Palestinians are furious at the deal, …

On the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 hijackings, Al Qaeda has released a lengthy screed from Ayman al Zawahiri. In last year’s anniversary message, Zawahiri attempted to rebuke Islamic critics of al Qaeda’s deadliest day. This year, Zawahiri’s ire is directed at another target: Al Jazeera. In particular, the al …

The intended target of the UAE-Israel alliance is not Iran but Turkey, whose regional clout poses a threat to Gulf rulers, says David Hearst, the editor in chief of Middle East Eye.