Middle Orient

On Monday, the PYD-led Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK) in northern Syria said that the talks with the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) “have come a long way in order to reach a comprehensive agreement between the Kurdish political parties in north and east Syria.” A report released by …

The Fatemiyoun Brigade militias have arrested an officer and five other troops of the regime’s Fourth Division, after setting an ambush on the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway. The Fatemiyoun Brigade was wearing the regime’s army uniform. The operation came to avenge group militias who were arrested by the Fourth Division in early …

The timing question is whether the US wants to try to strike a deal with current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani before the June elections. The latest bizarre round of US-Iran non-negotiation through public statements around each other is about one thing: timing.

“Iran had 102 kilograms of enriched uranium when Trump took office; they have 2.5 tons of enriched uranium now.” US Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Ro Khanna, both Democrats, addressed the stalemate between the US and Iran regarding the return to the 2015 nuclear agreement and urged the administration “to …

Until now, Tehran’s position has been that there is no need for negotiations, rejecting three offers by the US to restart talks. Iran attempted to sound tough even as it buckled under the pressure of US nuclear diplomacy, and agreed to join renegotiations of the 2015 nuclear deal late Thursday.

Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash believes that the Biden administration will not rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal before the June Iranian presidential election. “Don’t worry, we are there in Iran; we will make sure they do not cross the line,” said senior Russian officials during a visit to Israel.

MIDDLE ISRAEL: There are currently two main blueprints for postwar Syria: Assad’s and Vladimir Putin’s. Bibi Netanyahu can only dream of this: 21 straight years in power, absolute electoral victories, no coalition talks, no judiciary to battle and no media to curse. The side effects of this political monopolism – …

During the past two days, the Syrian regime sent military reinforcements to its forces stationed in the Sayyida Zainab area, south of the capital, Damascus. These reinforcements included dozens of soldiers equipped with light and medium weapons, in addition to armoured vehicles. They came against the background of escalating tension …

Turkey is rich in fertile land, water and skilled farmers. But its agricultural industry is in sharp decline, blamed by critics on failing government policies, spiralling costs and meagre state support. For five generations, Ahmet’s family has farmed the rich agricultural land of Thrace in northwestern Turkey.

The aid community is bracing for significant shortfalls ahead of a donor conference that starts Monday in Brussels and is being co-hosted by the United Nations and the European Union. Pledges were already dropping off before the coronavirus pandemic mainly due to donor fatigue. Officials fear that with the global …