Middle Orient

INTRODUCTION At a time when there is widespread anxiety around the world about the fate of democracy but not enough debate on the future of autocracy, Turkey presents an interesting case for scholars and policy-makers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spent two decades in power taking steps to build his …

An incident in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri last week sparked a wave of anti-Syrian attacks across Turkey, just as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s normalisation efforts with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reach a pivotal point. The events were triggered by the arrest of a Syrian national accused of sexually …

Iran’s new president urges dialogue, cooperation, and solidarity in the region, guided by the teachings of Islam and mutual respect in this exclusive editorial At the start of my tenure as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, voted in by the people of Iran, I wish to address our …

Shin Bet director Ronen Bar headed to Cairo for security talks after the Mossad chief returned from talks on a hostage-release and cease-fire in Doha. An Israeli team is slated to travel Thursday evening to Cairo for security talks and other discussions related to Gaza following the return of an …

In a clear challenge to regime hardliners, Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist and cardiac surgeon, won Iran’s snap presidential election on July 5. The elections were called after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19. The runoff had been considered a tight race, but Pezeshkian won decisively …

As expected, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won a majority in the UK General Election on 4 July, marking the collapse of the Conservative Party after 14 years in government. Labour’s majority in parliament, with 411 seats out of 650, means the party will have significant influence over parliamentary decisions going …

On July 1, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli army is advancing to the “end of the phase of eliminating” the “army” of Hamas. After more than nine months of war, Israeli political and military circles claim that they are “close to eliminating” Hamas’s military capabilities in …

On June 28, 2024, the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar published[1] an article reporting on preparations of Iraqi resistance factions for a potential Israeli operation against Lebanese Hizbullah. This report is based on the article. Iraqi Militias Train Hundreds Of Operatives In Iraq And Iran In Anticipation Of War Between Israel …

On July 8, 2024, the Qatari online daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reported that according to an unnamed Iraqi official source, Yemen’s Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) had opened, that same day, a headquarters in Baghdad. The outlet also cited Iraqi news reports confirming that the Houthis inaugurated what was described as …

Without a Real Path to a Palestinian State, a Deal Will Destabilize the Middle East During his first three years in office, U.S. President Joe Biden based his Middle East strategy on a single, straightforward project: normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Such a deal, Washington thought, would stabilize …