Middle Orient

China has become the new polarizing factor in Iranian politics. The latest issue is the 25-year deal between Iran and China, which, according to Abbas Milani of Stanford University, will make Iran a “colony” of China — a treaty even worse than the 1872 Reuter Concession, which gave a British …

On July 12, the Armenian and the Azerbaijani armed forces started a border skirmish. Fighting went on for several days, leaving at least 16 dead in its wake. Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities have been trading accusations ever since, rallying their respective publics behind the flag. Remarkably enough, the two sides …

With allies and direct lines to Beijing, Washington must do more to keep China’s presence in the region from becoming a threat.

The US interception of an Iranian civilian aircraft over Syrian skies has set off yet another escalatory episode in the rivalry between Tehran and Washington over influence in the Middle East.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Tuesday that Israel had violated his country’s sovereignty with what he called a “dangerous military escalation” after Israeli and Hezbollah forces traded cross-border fire Monday.

Over the past several months, Israel has been accused of dozens of strikes. In June, a series of airstrikes were reported on almost a weekly basis.

Britain’s ambassador to Iraq has been targeted by a graphic propaganda campaign featuring an image of his bloodied face after he spoke out against militia groups which are strengthening their grip on the war-torn country.

The Israeli military says it repelled a raid by Hezbollah in a disputed area along its northern border. Hezbollah denied carrying out an operation. No casualties were reported.

The Palestinians were extremely happy to accept the billions of dollars from Western donors. Yet when the Palestinians headed to the ballot boxes to cast their votes in the 2006 election, they did not choose Palestinian candidates who talked about peace with Israel. Instead, the majority of the Palestinians knowingly …

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s July visits to and engagement with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States demonstrate his attempts to balance those countries’ competing interests in Iraq.