Middle Orient

After years of hostility, Turkey forges ties with eastern Libya

Turkey’s hosting of the head of Libya’s eastern-based parliament sets a meaningful landmark in its bid to reshape its Libya policy. Top Turkish officials received a prominent leader of eastern Libya this week, signaling a significant policy shift in the Libyan civil strife two years after Ankara lent military support …

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Armenia clings to Turkish peace talks to avert war with Azerbaijan

Erdogan has made it clear that progress in the talks is contingent on progress on Armenia’s negotiations for a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. Armenia’s Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan announced that cargo flights from Turkey would start “in the near future,” in line with normalization efforts that resumed early this year …

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Killing of al-Qaida leader is long-sought ‘justice’

President Joe Biden announced Monday that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, an operation he said delivered justice and hopefully “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The president said …

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Biden Confirms US Killed al-Qaida Leader Ayman al-Zawahiri

President Joe Biden said Monday that a U.S. missile strike over the weekend has killed the leader of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. For the past decade, al-Zawahiri headed al-Qaida, the Islamist terror group that spawned franchises around the world after the stunning attacks on …

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Iraqi airstrikes kill 8 suspected ISIS members

An Iraqi Army unit visited the site to assess the damage, and they found the strikes yielded “positive results”. Eight suspected ISIS members were killed by twin Iraqi airstrikes in the west of Nineveh province on Thursday, according to a statement from the army’s media. The airstrikes targeted a “cave” …

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Lebanon’s Leaders ‘Out of Touch with Reality’

The Lebanese authorities are accusing Bishop al-Hajj of treason for bringing money to the poor and the sick, at a time when Iran is delivering — through Hezbollah — money and weapons to be used in the next war against Israel. The money and the weapons that the Iranians are …

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Iran Backs Azerbaijan’s Accession To D-8

The foreign minister of Iran voiced support for the Republic of Azerbaijan’s bid to join the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, saying enlargement of the D-8 and accession of new members would serve as a tool for the realization of its goals. Hossein Amirabdollahian delivered an address via videoconference to …

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Jordan’s King Abdullah II meets Israeli prime minister in Amman

In a meeting with Israel’s Yair Lapid, Jordan’s King Abdullah says Palestinians should be included in United States-backed economic projects in the region. Jordan’s king has told Israel’s visiting prime minister that Palestinians should be part of US-sponsored regional economic projects to underpin stability in the Middle East. Jordanian officials …

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7th Summit of the Astana Peace Process in Tehran: Implications for the Syrian Crisis

Three days after US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East, Tehran hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 19. This tripartite meeting was held within the framework of the seventh summit of the heads of states of the Astana Peace Process for …

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