Middle Orient

The changes in the global balance of power, and in particular, the challenges posed by a rising China, have made it necessary for Washington to shift more diplomatic and economic resources from the Atlantic to the Pacific. America’s allies in Europe have to assume that under any projected scenario in …

Iranian workers… have launched a series of strikes and sit-ins to protest what they regard as “systemic exploitation.” By the time of this writing, over 100,000 workers were on strike in 122 businesses in 35 cities, relatively small numbers yet significant for two reasons: the protests seem to be spreading …

India-Iran relations have a deep civilizational background and need to be viewed outside the framework of daily politics and current trends such as anti-government protests in Iran, India-Pakistan conflict and constant geopolitical realignments: India maintains good relations with both East and West, and Iran is under attack western sanctions. In …

The presidents of Iran and Syria signed a comprehensive agreement on long-term and strategic cooperation between the two countries in Damascus. The “comprehensive plan for strategic and long-term cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic” was signed by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Syrian …

In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations, with China playing a role as the host of the talks. This generated considerable discussion among policymakers and the scholarly community. Some believed this indicated a new change in China’s approach to the Middle East, which has primarily …

Islamist parties are falling out of favor across the region, as leaders hope to offer economic benefits combined with authoritarianism. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, facing a difficult election on May 14, announced on April 30 that Turkish intelligence had killed Abu Hussein al-Quraishi — the latest self-styled “Islamic State …

Belgium police have arrested an Iraqi immigrant suspected of belonging to an al-Qaeda cell that carried out deadly car bombings in Baghdad in 2009-2010, prosecutors said Friday. The man, identified by the initials O.Y.T., born in 1979, was detained on Wednesday when police raided an address near the city of …

The new sanctions target members of US-designated terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. The US Treasury Department coordinated with the government of Turkey to impose sanctions Tuesday on two men accused of serving as financial facilitators for terrorist groups in Syria’s opposition-controlled northwest. The Treasury action targets …

US forces ‘advised, assisted and enabled’ operation that comes amid rise in anti-ISIS activities The Syrian Democratic Forces have captured two ISIS smuggling operatives in the country’s north-eastern Hasakah province, US partner forces announced on Tuesday. The US Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force said the SDF led an April …

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Thursday announced that it eliminated a “high-ranking” member of the PKK/KCK terrorist group in a pinpoint operation in the northern Iraqi region of Gara. Ahmet Gümüş, codenamed “Cudi Engizek,” had been the so-called training officer of the KCK/PKK terrorists since 2022, the agency said, …