The United States’ rapid military buildup across the Gulf has triggered a familiar anxiety in Iran, but the Iranians’ reading of American intentions has grown sharper and more layered than at any point in recent years. Iranian officials and analysts now assume that the goal is neither a full-scale war …

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, announced today, Friday, February 20, the return of Iraqi nationals from al-Hol camp in the countryside of al-Hasakah province in northeastern Syria. The camp has housed families of Islamic State fighters alongside displaced civilians for years. UNHCR Representative in Syria Gonzalo Vargas …

Excerpt On February 11, Turkish lawmakers came to blows on the parliament floor over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to appoint new justice and interior ministers. Cabinet reshuffles are routine in Erdogan’s Turkey, serving as a calculated mechanism to purge insufficiently loyal officials and replace them with figures willing to …