Middle Orient

A U.S. government decision Tuesday to sanction two former Lebanese government ministers is the latest unprecedented campaign against Hezbollah, with some observers saying the move dramatically increases the risk for Lebanese politicians to engage with the U.S.-designated terror group.

The long-planned trims, which would cut the number nearly in half, maintain a U.S. counterterrorism force in Iraq but help fulfill President Trump’s goal to reduce overseas deployments.

L’accord diplomatique entre l’État hébreu et Abou Dhabi est historique. Il contre l’influence iranienne délétère au Moyen-Orient. Et même si les monarchies du Golfe délaissent la cause palestinienne, ce rapprochement Émirati-Israélien est plein de promesses pour tous les peuples de la région.

L’explosion survenue au port de Beyrouth le 4 août dernier n’est pas le fruit du hasard. On peut y voir la conséquence tragique de l’absence d’Etat libanais. Ce dernier n’est qu’un agrégat de confessions et de clans incapables de servir l’intérêt général. Unis par la colère, les Libanais peuvent-ils inventer …

The Russian military has reportedly strengthened its presence at the Al-Qamishli Airbase in northeastern Syria, a new report said this week. According to Avia.Pro, the Russian Air Force moved a number of helicopters and a cargo plane to the Al-Qamishli Airbase recently, which comes only two weeks after a traffic …

I believe that for us Arabs to survive and progress we must have in common more than religion, language and rhetoric. We need unity, transparency and honesty.

On July 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined thousands of worshippers in the streets around the historic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul for a doubly symbolic moment. Surrounded by a swarm of politicians, soldiers, security forces and imams, the Turkish leader made his way into the giant, former Byzantine cathedral …

Russia has overseen meetings in southern Syria between the different factions, to discuss reconciliations and defected officers and soldiers writes North Press.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented today 62 cases of arrest and enforced disappearance of Syrians returning from Lebanon by the Syrian regime forces, since the beginning of the year.

While many expected the Russians to put more pressure on the regime, they appear to largely support the latter’s political choices, political commentator Akil Hussein says