Middle Orient

On June 14, 2018, the Jordanian king swore in a new government after the previous government resigned due to extensive protests over its economic policy. A notable appointment was that of Jumana Ghunaimat, formerly the editor-in-chief of Jordan’s Al-Ghad daily, as state minister of media affairs and as government spokesperson.(by …

Iraqi warplanes targeted on Saturday a gathering of Islamic State militants in Diyala province, leaving three of them dead. Spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool said that “the Iraqi Air Force killed three IS terrorists and destroyed one of

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari said that Syria is determined to fight international terrorism on all its territories with its commitment to the political solution through Syrian-Syrian talks without any foreign intervention or preconditions.

Egypt President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has affirmed that Egypt supports efforts to form a strong national Iraqi government that represents all Iraqis. During his meeting with Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi, Sisi welcomed political talks carried out by Iraqi blocs and stressed that Egypt backs any outcome.

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem on Wednesday sent a letter to Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari on increasing the efforts for reopening the border crossing between Syria and Iraq that connects the Syrian city of al-Boukamal and the Iraqi city of al-Qa’im.

President Bashar al-Assad affirmed that the Syrian south is in front of two options; reconciliation or liberation by force, indicating that at this point, there are no concrete results for a simple reason which is Israeli and American interference, for they put pressure on the terrorists in that area in …

The European Union condemned Tuesday the decision of the Syrian regime to establish diplomatic relations with the “Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” The move “violates international law and the principle of territorial integrity as defined by the United Nations Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” said …

Up to 13 Islamic State (IS) militants were arrested Monday in their former stronghold of Mosul, a police chief was quoted as saying. “Nineveh police arrested the 13 militants upon accurate intelligence data in al-Entisar, Judaydat al-Mufti and al-Nour districts in Mosul’s eastern side,” Baghdad Today website quoted Nineveh Police …

Turkey and Israel have expelled their envoys amid growing tensions between the two sides over the killing of dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip at the hands of the Tel Aviv regime’s forces.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has denied intentions to intervene within Syrian affairs, saying airstrikes against Islamic State will continue. In his weekly speech, Abadi said, “we don’t want to intervene within Syrian affairs. The Syrian people should have self-determination.”