June, 2020

• 21 June

  Danger: Iran's Arms Embargo About to Expire

  Who will benefit from lifting the arms embargo? Russia and China. They would most likely be the preferred weapons exporters to Iran. With prospects for multi-billion dollar deals, Moscow and Beijing would doubtless be delighted to sell weapons to Iran.

  Read More »
• 21 June

  Turkish jets strike Kurdish PKK positions close to refugee camps in Iraq

  Jets from Turkey carried out cross-border airstrikes on Monday targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, announced Turkish authorities.

  Read More »
• 21 June

  Trump at West Point: Un-Policing the World

  Donald Trump claims to be the law-and-order president of the United States. There does not seem much sign of this as the stitching of the Republic gets undone. Protestors have been given a considerable roughing up across several states; police forces are in retreat before proposals of defunding while protocols …

  Read More »
• 21 June

  Turkey’s PKK Conflict: A Visual Explainer

  Context: Turkey’s conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – continues in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. In northern Syria, Ankara and the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), remain pitted against each other. On …

  Read More »
• 21 June

  Iran’s New Parliament Heralds Conservative Consolidation

  Conservatives won big in Iran’s February legislative election. Disqualification of rivals, low turnout and coordination among factions may portend their victory in the 2021 presidential contest as well. Should an opportunity arise to reduce U.S.-Iranian tensions between now and then, it should be seized.

  Read More »
• 21 June

  Pulling Lebanon out of the Pit

  An uprising of unprecedented scope has rocked Lebanon as the country’s economy tumbles deeper into recession. Poverty and unemployment could lead to violent unrest. Donors should put together an emergency package but condition further aid upon reforms to tackle corruption, a major grievance driving protest. What’s new? The impact of the …

  Read More »
• 20 June

  The Assad-Makhlouf spat: A complicated family affair

  In the fall of 1997, at the Carlton Hotel in Damascus, a simple wedding was held for the man who would become Syria’s richest businessman and the regime’s financial arm. Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad’s maternal cousin, was getting married. The Makhlouf family chose a four-star hotel as they liked to …

  Read More »
• 20 June

  A moment of reckoning for the US and Iraq

  The U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue that will be launched this week provides an opportunity for the two sides to put their relations, as Iraqi President Dr. Barham Salih said last April, “in the right context.” A dialogue gives both parties a chance to air their grievances, and there are at least …

  Read More »
• 20 June

  IntelBrief: Tensions between China and India Have Asia—and the World—on Edge

  Bottom Line Up Front China and India—two nuclear-armed powers with the largest populations in the world—have recently been engaged in a tense standoff along one of the world’s longest shared land borders. While this is not the first time China and India have clashed over territorial demarcation, what is different …

  Read More »
• 20 June

  IntelBrief: Domestic Challenges Impact U.S. Middle East Policy

  Bottom Line Up Front The domestic challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and social unrest in the United States are necessitating Trump administration adjustments to policy in the Middle East. The twin crises are likely to limit the Trump administration’s willingness to address tensions with any of its regional adversaries. …

  Read More »