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Leaked meeting minutes show Russia’s deputy defense minister leaning on Syria to pay a $37-million bill for keeping oil flowing. Months after that meeting, the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell to a rebel coalition. Syria’s new government has continued to negotiate with Russia over its total debt of at least …

Far from weakening the IRGC, the war has entrenched its power, pushing Iran towards a military-run state with clerical cover In its war against Iran, the US and Israel have heavily targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), striking its command structure, intelligence networks, air and naval assets, as well …

Recent missile and air strikes on the UAE during a period of ceasefire, unlike other countries, have undermined confidence in the “safe haven” model. The United Arab Emirates, in general, and Dubai in particular, are facing a critical test of their international image as an economic oasis of stability in …

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Expecting Hamas to disarm voluntarily is like expecting ISIS or Al-Qaeda to renounce jihad (holy war) and become peaceful political movements. [D]espite these repeated rejections, the “Board of Peace” continues its embarrassing efforts to negotiate with Hamas over the surrender of its weapons. The entire spectacle has become surreal. Instead …

My latest piece for the online magazine ‘Syria in Transition’ is reprinted below. Based on visits to the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in the Damascus area, the piece examines what the shrine’s status tells us about the general situation of Syria’s Twelver Shia minority. The last banner of ZaynabSyria’s Shia find …

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Le terrorisme utile est armé par des mandataires. Lorsqu’il est gênant, on lui envoie des drones. Quand il cesse, il atteste du succès. Quand il resurgit, il fournit l’argument pour tout recommencer. Comment la CIA, le MI6 et le Mossad ont transformé le djihadisme en un instrument d’État. L’État islamique …

The so-called “Global Alliance for the implementation of the Two-State Solution” — co-chaired by the EU, Saudi Arabia, and Norway, with active European partners including the increasingly Israel-critical Netherlands, and openly Israel-hostile states such as Belgium, Ireland, Spain, and France — is not a peace project. It is a coordinated …