Middle Orient

One week after the US launched an alliance to guard the Red Sea against Houthi attacks on Israeli ships, members of the coalition no longer want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all, Reuters reported. Two of America’s European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity …

A PKK terrorist who was plotting an attack against Türkiye was eliminated in Iraq, sources said Thursday. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had found that Sadık Şeyh Ahmet, a PKK/KCK terrorist, was operating in the rural areas of Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah and Penjwen regions, said the sources on condition of anonymity …

The killing of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in a reported drone strike in Beirut will be perceived as a warning to Iran, which has armed and financed Hamas, and other Hamas leaders, experts said. Al-Arouri, the commander of Hamas’ military wing in the West Bank and deputy chairman of the …

The group, which has struck before in Iran, has a long history of division with the country. The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for the bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, a day before, during a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, according to a …

Turkish authorities continue their operations against international espionage activities across the country. In total 33 suspects were detained early on Tuesday, Jan. 2, as part of an operation against individuals suspected of engaging in “espionage” on behalf of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad. The suspects were based in Istanbul …

Escalating exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah suggest that the Israel-Lebanon front still has the potential to devolve into all-out conflict, especially following yesterday’s assassination of the deputy Hamas chief, Salah al-Arouri, and five other Hamas members by a drone strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. Israel insists that …

Syria is emerging as a potentially significant new front as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to expand into a region-wide conflict. The regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad provides a permissive environment for Iran, Iran-backed militia fighters, and Palestinian militants to launch attacks on Israel, prompting an escalating Israeli response. …

On the evening of January 2, 2024, an explosion occurred in the Musharrafiya area of the Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut. According to reports, the attack was carried out by an aircraft and targeted a building where a meeting of senior Hamas terrorists was being held. The attack killed …

Spot analysis from Carnegie scholars on events relating to the Middle East and North Africa. What Happened? In the aftermath of the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, much of Lebanon held its breath, worried that this would lead to a significant escalation …

Several factors, including the need to avoid being diverted from Gaza, suggest that Israel benefits little from widening the conflict northwards. Predictions have increased that the daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah across the Lebanese-Israeli border, which have been ongoing since the October 7 Hamas attack, may escalate …