While Washington searches for ways to weaken Iran’s murderous rulers, our supposed NATO ally Turkey is working overtime to keep the mullahs alive — and in power. This week’s diplomatic tug-of-war over US-Iran negotiations is a win for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Islamist strongman, who has led a cynical campaign …

Developments in al-Hasakah governorate (northeastern Syria) are accelerating on the ground and politically, as the agreement signed between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on 30 January begins to take shape in parallel with French and international diplomacy that is reshaping the influence map in the area. …

It seems that the new authority in Syria has not yet succeeded in moving from a faction mentality to a state mentality. This problem is not an administrative detail, but a structural issue that touches the essence of state-building and its future. The state is not governed by loyalty relations, …