Middle Orient

Turkish forces plan to establish an observation post 200 meters from the Damascus-Aleppo international road on the northwestern outskirts of Saraqeb city, reliable sources said Friday, a few days after Iranian forces and their proxy militias redeployed in areas that were hit by a series of airstrikes in eastern Syria …

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Samsar discussed Friday the situation in Syria and Libya, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Aleppo Province – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: SOHR sources have reported clashes, on Friday evening, between Turkish-backed factions and “Manbij Military Council Forces” on the frontlines of Al-Bughaz in the western countryside of Manbij, north-east of Aleppo. the clashes coincided with exchange of bombardment between the tow parties, but …

Syrian Observatory activists have documented a spike in the number of Russian airstrikes on the Syrian desert in the past 24 hours, as the Russian fighter jets executed 65 airstrikes targeting ISIS positions in Alepp-Hama-Al-Raqqah triangle and other positions in the desert, amid reports of casualties.

In a sign of the changing political environment in the Middle East, the United States military will move Israel from the U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility to that of the U.S. Central Command, DOD officials announced today.

Troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan have dropped, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller announced today. There are now 2,500 U.S. service members in Iraq and 2,500 in Afghanistan. It is the lowest number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan since operations started there in 2001.

Israel needs to prepare for this new reality where its ability to combat Iranian forces and proxy groups is concerned. Speculation about the extent to which the incoming American administration will appease Iran has been rampant. But US President-elect Joe Biden’s picks for relevant top positions don’t seem to leave …

Café Milano, the upscale Italian restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, was the scene of an important dinner on Monday night: Mossad chief Yossi Cohen sat down to eat with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the two were spotted by journalists.

The Yemeni interior minister said the Houthi militias, helped by Iranian and Lebanese experts, were behind the strikes that targeted Aden airport on December 30. The results of investigations by the Yemeni government about the Aden airport attack underline the danger posed by missiles Iran has supplied to the Houthis, …

The Lebanese are worried that their country will meet the fate endured by Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where the Iranians and their militia proxies are playing a major role in the civil wars currently plaguing these countries. The Lebanese are demanding an end to Iranian occupation of their country; they …