Middle Orient

Why does Trump treat Iran and North Korea so differently?

Iran and North Korea both get a great deal of attention from the international community — for all the wrong reasons. Yet while U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un have met several times now, shaking hands, smiling, and posing for photos, Trump has not once …

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Countering and courting Iran: Israeli-Palestinian objectives in Iraq

Israel has reportedly expanded its operations against Iran in the Middle East. In July, Israeli and foreign media attributed airstrikes on Iranian targets near Baghdad to Israel. Last week, U.S. officials confirmed that Israel was responsible for the attacks, which mark the first such air raids on Iraq since 1981, …

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Hezbollah Planning 'Calculated Strike' Against Israel

Shi’ite organization warns retaliation ‘is being arranged in a way which wouldn’t lead to a war that neither Hezbollah nor Israel wants’ Hezbollah is preparing a “calculated strike” against its enemy Israel after drones crashed in Beirut but it seeks to avoid a new war, two sources allied to the …

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From “compassionate Islamism” to “Turkey first”

Debates about populism often lump Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan together with Donald Trump in the US, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and Viktor Orban in Hungary. All four are kindred spirits who have used the same tactics to gain and hold onto power. They stir up fear, divide societies, fuel …

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Israel’s new front in the fight against Iran

On Aug. 12, an explosion took place inside an ammunition warehouse in the al-Saqr military base in southern Baghdad, triggering hundreds of mortars and rockets to fire off in all directions throughout urban, populated areas. One person was killed and 29 wounded, as munitions and debris scattered as far as …

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There Is No "Status Quo": Drivers of Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a destabilizing element in an already volatile Middle East. The Palestinians are too weak to wrest their independence from Israel. But as long as their right to self-determination is denied, they are likely to engage in regular violence targeting Israel. Absent outside intervention, Israel is powerful …

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ISIS Is Regaining Strength in Iraq and Syria

Five months after American-backed forces ousted the Islamic State from its last shard of territory in Syria, the terrorist group is gathering new strength, conducting guerrilla attacks across Iraq and Syria, retooling its financial networks and targeting new recruits at an allied-run tent camp, American and Iraqi military and intelligence …

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Israel blames Islamic Jihad for Gaza violence, tells Hamas to clamp down

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday blamed the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad for the recent increase in violence from the Gaza Strip and called for Hamas, the de facto ruler of the enclave, to rein in the terror group. “We do not plan to accept terror attacks and rocket fire …

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