Middle Orient

Bottom Line Up Front Baghdad’s difficulty in assembling a new government is a result of U.S.-Iran competition for influence in Iraq. The latest choice for Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, appears to be acceptable to both the United States and Iran. Despite its struggles against COVID-19, Iran has unified Iraq’s Shia …

If the reports about Erdogan’s readiness to invite Hamas leaders to live in Turkey are true, that would also turn Erdogan into the spiritual father of a terrorist group that seeks to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamic state.

The U.S. Navy says 11 vessels of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made “dangerous and harassing approaches” toward U.S. naval ships in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s Navy commander says the force plans to build nuclear-powered submarines capable of operating in international waters for long periods of time amid the growing threats facing the country from the sea.

Spokesman for the Israeli occupation army, Avichai Adraee, on Friday accused the Syrian regime of allowing Hezbollah to deploy its forces in the Golan Heights.

Without substantial change on the part of the Assad regime, effective intervention and deterrence measures are still absolutely necessary in Syria. How such policy action materialises is debatable, but should not come at the cost of whitewashing the regime. Those who argue against intervention or deterrence, without insisting on the …

When the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the village of al-Baghouz in late March 2019, ISIS’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” came to an end. The largest multinational military coalition in modern history spent four-and-a-half years methodically rolling back ISIS’s control of an expanse of territory the size of Britain, stretching across …

North Korea test-fired multiple short-range missiles Tuesday, its latest military provocation that comes just a day before an important national election in neighboring South Korea.

Turkey is ready to purchase the Patriot air defence system from the United States under certain conditions, but Ankara’s position on purchasing and keeping Russian S-400 air defence systems has not changed, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Those in the international community expressing concern about the possible spread of the virus in the Gaza Strip are ignoring the existing tragedy of the Palestinians in Syria, particularly those held in various Syrian government-controlled prisons.