Middle Orient

Russia stepped foot in southern Syria for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad almost a year ago. On November 17, a Russian military delegation traveled to the southern region, where they conducted “reconnaissance operations” in Quneitra Province, which borders the Golan Heights. The Russians were accompanied by …

Iraq’s elections make ponderous a status quo Washington and Tehran seek to preserve; manoeuvring politicians make work for external powers contesting the fate of Iraq’s Iran-backed militia groups. Iraq’s November national elections positioned incumbent Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC) as the leading party in federal …

Iraq’s parliamentary election on 11 November went smoothly from a procedural perspective but left a fragmented political landscape in its wake. While incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani topped the poll on the back of a populist campaign of public sector spending, no one party is close to securing a …

The United Nations Security Council on Monday approved a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for the devastated Gaza Strip. Authorising an International Stabilisation Force (ISF), a transitional administration, or ‘Board of Peace’, which would oversee reconstruction, while also referencing a “pathway” to Palestinian statehood, the resolution provides …

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah facilities in south Lebanon and in the Beqa’a Valley andeliminated operatives of the organization as part of ongoing activity against Hezbollah’spresence in south Lebanon, in violation of the ceasefire understandings and because of theorganization’s renewed attempts to regain its strength and rebuild its arsenal. A rocketlaunching …

Syria needs an economic reconstruction program. Desperately. Yet nearly a year after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, there is still no talk of putting together a comprehensive economic reconstruction plan, whether in Damascus or among the obvious international stakeholders. Without clarity and wide-based consultation on the country’s new economic …

Michael Young: You’ve just written a very interesting essay for Foreign Affairs in which you examine the kind of changes that may be coming to Iran once the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, passes away. Before getting into the piece itself, what immediately hits the reader is that your conclusions …

On October 27, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, issued “Constitutional Declaration 1 of 2025.” It is a laconic document that lays out quite clearly that once Abbas vacates his office, his replacement for a brief interim period, renewable once, will be Hussein al-Sheikh. He is identified not …

For over a month now, a tenuous ceasefire has held in the Gaza Strip following intense pressure on Israel and Hamas by the United States and regional partners. U.S. President Donald Trump’s twenty-point plan for ending two years of fighting delivered a welcome respite in a conflict that has seen …

Background—A Scientific Military-Civil Partnership On March 27, 2021, the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement.[1] China’s pledge of a $400 billion investment in Iran, which has yet to be fulfilled, attracted significant global attention. Less attention was given to the …