Middle Orient

In May 2025, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced that it would set in motion a process of dissolution. This historic disbandment was given further legitimacy when disarmament commenced in July, followed by a withdrawal of forces in October. The international response to the announcement has been overwhelmingly positive. While …

Israel’s approval of the delayed export agreement is a welcome development, but U.S. officials should view it as the start, not the end, of efforts to ease tensions between two key peace partners. On December 17, Israel announced the largest natural gas deal in its history—a $35 billion agreement to …

Mass displacement, settler violence, and Israeli military killings have surged across the West Bank, driven by an unbridled campaign to seize Palestinian land In Burqin, a hillside village overlooking Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Abdullah family mourns a heavy loss. A large, framed picture of their son, Montasser …

Nightly protests continued across several Iranian cities as authorities reported no official toll, while Donald Trump warned Tehran against using force. Nightly protests continued across several Iranian cities on Sunday, while US President Donald Trump renewed warnings against the use of force and Iranian officials delivered mixed messages on how …

Iraqi militias refuse to disarm following the top judge’s assertion that there is no justification for weapons outside state control. Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions have openly rejected demands to surrender their weapons to state control, directly challenging the authority of Iraq’s top judge and prime minister. This highlights divisions within …

The universities, historically the bastions of anti-monarchist Marxism, are now echoing with chants of “Down with the three corrupts! Mullah, leftist, Mujahid.” For a week, the Islamic Republic has tried to tell itself, and the world, that the protests in Iran are merely about the price of the dollar. They …

The Lebanese Army announced the arrest of nine Lebanese nationals and 35 Syrians in the districts of Akkar, Tripoli, Batroun, Baalbek, and Hermel, on charges of “committing various crimes, including opening fire, possessing weapons, using drugs, smuggling people, and illegal roaming.” In a statement published on its account on X …

Un nouveau plan à long terme prévoit, selon certaines sources, une « expansion considérable » de toutes les activités militaires de Tsahal, y compris le déploiement d’armes dans l’espace. L’armée israélienne (Tsahal) a reçu l’ordre de se préparer à une éventuelle guerre simultanée contre l’Iran, le Liban et la Cisjordanie, …

The US news website Axios reported on Sunday, January 4, 2026, that senior Syrian and Israeli officials will meet in Paris on Monday. Axios cited an Israeli official and another source familiar with the matter as saying the meeting will address resuming negotiations over the security agreement between the two …

The British government has a new policy promoting weapons exports to Syria, whose regime is led by former Al-Qaeda operatives The UK government has issued new guidance to businesses outlining “opportunities” to export British arms to the country. The document, issued by the government’s trade department, notes: “There is a …