Middle Orient

On February 9, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that Turkey would begin developing nuclear weapons should Iran obtain them. During a televised interview with CNN Turk, Fidan warned that Iranian nuclearization would upset the “balance of power” in the Middle East and likely initiate a regional nuclear arms race, …

Sources at humanitarian organizations and eyewitnesses told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that most families of foreign members of the Islamic State group have left al-Hol camp in the eastern countryside of al-Hasakah (northeastern Syria), after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from it in late January and it was taken over …

Toplines Iranian officials are rejecting US offers to engage in negotiations over Iran’s ballistic missile program amid increasing US threats. Iranian Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani told al Jazeera on February 13 that Iran’s missile capability is a “firmly established” element of Iran’s defense doctrine and part of its deterrence …

The United States has evacuated its forces from the al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, relocating personnel to neighboring Jordan as part of a broader military drawdown from Syrian territory, according to two security sources cited by Reuters on Wednesday. Strategically located at the tri-border junction of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, …

According to UN assessments, roughly 3,000 ISIS fighters remain active across Iraq and Syria, with the majority operating inside Syrian territory. A newly released United Nations report has disclosed that five assassination attempts targeting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, along with Interior Minister Anas Khattab and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, were …

The Middle East, a region of profound historical depth and strategic significance, remains a geopolitical tinderbox characterized by intricate alliances, entrenched rivalries, and unresolved conflicts. While active hostilities are often contained within certain thresholds, a complex web of latent parameters exists beneath the surface. These factors possess the inherent potential …

The recent Oman talks reflect a remarkable shift in Iran’s negotiating behavior, with acceptance of expanding the scope of negotiations to include non-nuclear files that were previously considered red lines. This shift is due to the escalation of the US military threat, the decline of Iranian regional influence, and the …

As commendable as it may be that US President Donald J. Trump is apparently hoping that he can turn “swords into ploughshares,” the inclusion of avowedly pro-Islamist, pro-terrorist countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan in his so-called “Board of Peace” has all the potential thoroughly to undermine the American …

The file of northeastern Syria, defined by negotiations and clashes between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is nearing a decisive stage, following a military operation that led to broad control by the Syrian army, backed by Arab tribes, across eastern Syria. While the war is being …

Damascus witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Chevron and the Qatar-based company Power International Holding on February 4. The goal of the new agreement is to push forward with the “development of the country’s first offshore oil and gas field,” Syrian state media SANA said. US special …