Middle Orient

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 …

Over the past decade, the struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for dominance in the Middle East has insinuated itself into nearly every regional issue, fracturing international alliances and sustaining wars across the region, while raising fears of a direct conflict between the two powers that could involve the United …

The combat arena: IDF forces continued the integrated ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, focusing on the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip and the Daraj-Tufah neighborhoods east of Gaza City. The Palestinian media reported attacks throughout the Gaza Strip, which focused on the area of the al-Maghazi …

The White House has warned that the potential for higher shipping costs to affect the U.S. economy amid diversion of ships from the Red Sea will depend on how long Houthi rebels sustain their attacks on commercial vessels. A FreightWaves report said on Thu, Jan. 4, 2024: “If we were …

The US carried out an illegal missile strike on Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday in the latest escalation of the US-Israeli rampage throughout the Middle East. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed that the US killed its target, identified as Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari. Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces said that …

A U.S. airstrike on the headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad on Thursday killed a high-ranking militia commander, militia officials said. Thursday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by the Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries. It also coincides with a …

Iran said it is shutting its vast borders with neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan to increase security after the twin bombing that killed at least 89 people in the southeastern city of Kerman on January 3. The Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying his government …