Middle Orient

The U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue that will be launched this week provides an opportunity for the two sides to put their relations, as Iraqi President Dr. Barham Salih said last April, “in the right context.” A dialogue gives both parties a chance to air their grievances, and there are at least …

Bottom Line Up Front The domestic challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and social unrest in the United States are necessitating Trump administration adjustments to policy in the Middle East. The twin crises are likely to limit the Trump administration’s willingness to address tensions with any of its regional adversaries. …

Bottom Line Up Front In this photo taken from video is Abdelmalek Droukdel. The French military and allied forces in Mali killed the longtime leader of al-Qaida’s North African arm, who commanded jihadists in his native Algeria and then spread their movement across Africa’s Sahel region, France’s defense minister said …

The RSC plan also advocates that Congress impose further new sanctions on “Iran’s petrochemical, shipping, financial, construction and automotive sectors.” Legislation would also target “Iran’s human rights violations and regional aggression, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. And it suggests sanctioning the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), …

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a large-scale operation on Thursday against the Islamic State in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province after a recent increase in attacks by the extremist group.

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.

Russian troops in Syria are looking to expand their military presence in the northeastern part of the war-ravaged country, local sources said.

Iraq on Tuesday launched the second phase of a military operation in the north to combat ISIS sleeper cells.

Here’s What You Need To Remember: Virtually all the state actors in the region find it more expedient to remain locked in perpetual small-scale warfare than to take on the political risks of negotiating in good faith with their adversaries—a move which could delegitimize them with their own allies.

Over the weekend, the French military claimed, and United States Africa Command confirmed, that its forces had killed the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelmalek Droukdal, in northern Mali.