May, 2024

• 20 May

  Iran Update, May 17, 2024

  

  Hamas is continuing to discuss its desired political end state in which a Hamas-influenced government governs the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh gave a speech on May 15 that outlined this end state, which will include an “administration” for the post-war Gaza Strip …

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• 20 May

  Who are Lebanon’s Al-Fajr Forces and why have they joined Hezbollah’s fight against Israel?

  

  The Lebanese Sunni military group the Al-Fajr Forces has reemerged in recent months after a long hiatus, joining the fight against Israel alongside Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border. The Al-Fajr Forces – established in 1982 – are the military wing of Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese Sunni Muslim organisation also known …

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• 20 May

  In Ukraine, Russia is Beginning to Compound Advantages

  

  By stretching Ukrainian forces along a wide front, Russia is overcoming the limitations of its undertrained army. Russia has now started the early phases of its anticipated summer offensive with renewed attacks on Kharkiv. Over the past few days, Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border, occupying a number of villages. …

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• 20 May

  How Entanglement with China Erodes Germany’s Strategic Autonomy

  

  Strategic blindness in Germany’s approach to China has led to mounting costs in terms of national sovereignty, economic independence and civil liberties. Disentangling from Beijing will not be easy, but the benefits will outweigh any short-term difficulties. German Chancellor Scholz’s recent visit to China has been widely met with derision. …

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• 20 May

  “Gwadar is the future”: China and Pakistan’s troubled strategic port on the Arabian Sea

  

  During a landmark visit to Islamabad in April 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under the umbrella of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Initially valued at $46 billion, the investment pledges soon swelled to $62 …

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• 20 May

  Crossroads in Idlib: HTS navigating internal divisions amid popular discontent

  

  As the world focuses on Israel’s war in Gaza, northwest Syria is undergoing a significant political upheaval that could lead to major instability. For the last three months, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an armed Sunni Islamist group that governs more 4.5 million people in the Idlib region, has been facing …

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• 20 May

  Riyadh and Tehran use OIC to mend ties, but its sway is limited

  

  A year after the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two countries are working to ease regional tensions in the Middle East in exchange for promises of improved bilateral cooperation. But strains persist in the relationship between Riyadh and Tehran, and the two capitals are using …

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• 20 May

  Is It Possible to Destroy Hamas? Experts Weigh in as US Rhetoric Shifts

  

  Amid a shift in rhetoric among US officials regarding Israel’s ability to destroy Hamas, there has been growing uncertainty about whether that war aim is feasible. According to experts who spoke with The Algemeiner, Israel can remove the Palestinian terrorist group from power in Gaza, although efforts by the Biden …

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• 20 May

  New Russian Offensive Stretches Ukrainian Forces, Possibly To The Breaking Point – Analysis

  

  Ukrainian civilians evacuated from border regions with Russia. An important east-west highway in the eastern Donetsk region threatened by encroaching Russian forces. A village captured by Ukraine during last year’s counteroffensive about to return to Russian control. Ukraine’s president cancels all foreign trips. The news from Ukraine’s battlefield these days …

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• 20 May

  Syria Today – Why was Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Damascus?

  

  A new report from Iran International said that the top commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1. Zahedi, who was trying to evade Israeli targeting, had travelled from Tehran to Damascus …

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