Middle Orient

Iran’s probing of Israeli society for vulnerabilities is expanding beyond the Jewish population. Israeli NGO “FakeReporter” uncovered a multipronged influence operation targeting Israel’s Arab population on December 19. The suspected Iranian operation, which operated in Arabic, shared politically contentious content intended to stoke tensions in Israel’s Arab community. Through a …

Report says second candidate is terror group’s former head Mashaal, who is said to favor diplomacy on Gaza whereas frontrunner backs ‘armed conflict’ Hamas is expected to elect a new leader within days or a few weeks, Saudi outlet Asharq reported Saturday, citing sources close to the Palestinian terror group’s …

On December 23, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum with H.E. Youssef Raggi, Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. Questioners included David Schenker, the Institute’s Taube Senior Fellow and director of its Rubin Program on Arab Politics; Hanin Ghaddar, the Institute’s Friedmann Senior Fellow; and event moderator …

Türkiye has been providing financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since its founding in 1949. The country is now preparing to host the agency’s fifth liaison office, in the capital of Ankara, in early 2026, a senior UNRWA …

Israel has formally recognized the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, becoming the first country to do so and triggering strong reactions across the Horn of Africa. The move marks a diplomatic breakthrough for Somaliland, which has sought international recognition since breaking away from Somalia more …

Since the June war, Tehran has hastily doubled down on Russian and Chinese partnerships to weather sanctions and deter future attacks, but Moscow and Beijing are hesitant to invest deeply in return—and Washington should make sure they stay that way. When Iranian leaders assisted Russia’s war on Ukraine by providing …

Latakia’s Internal Security Command announced a curfew in Latakia city (on Syria’s Mediterranean coast), starting at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, and lasting until 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 31 December 2025. In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Internal Security Command said the curfew does not …

Sectarian tensions appear to be resurfacing in Syria’s Mediterranean coastal region, the home to the country’s largest concentration of the Alawite religious minority. The group held a privileged position under the ousted dictator — and co-religionist — Bashar al-Assad. On December 28, thousands of Alawites protested in cities of Latakia …

Plus d’un an après la chute du régime de Bachar al-Assad, la paix et la souveraineté pour la Syrie restent des illusions inaccessibles. Au lieu de la reconstruction, le pays est devenu un terrain d’expérimentation pour la stratégie ouvertement coloniale d’Israël, qui bénéficie du soutien total et inconditionnel des États-Unis. …

Swelling waves of dissatisfaction are sweeping the Islamic Republic of Iran into the new year. What began on December 28 as demonstrations in downtown Tehran has crossed the country to Malard, Isfahan, Hamedan, Kerman, Ahvaz, Qeshm, and several other cities. They have been joined by coordinated strikes held by merchants …