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Iran air defences shoot at flying objects as Israel reportedly retaliates

Several US news outlets cited US government representatives as saying that Israel had carried out a military operation in Iran Iranian state media on Friday reported that several small flying objects had been shot at in the skies over the central province of Isfahan. Earlier on Friday, state news agency …

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Russia’s Request For UNSC Sanctions Against Israel Is A Principled Soft Power Move

The sole purpose is to reaffirm the primacy of international law as enshrined in the UN Charter after Israel refused to implement UNSC 2728. Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia made headlines across the world after saying the following at the Security Council on Thursday: “Unfortunately, Israel has …

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Iran Attempts to Destabilize Jordan

Latest Developments Iran has sought to leverage its militias and proxies, including Lebanese Hezbollah, to destabilize Jordan, reported the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on April 16. There are “intensive Iranian efforts to target security in the kingdom over the last few months,” an unnamed Jordanian source said. The report accused …

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Qatar Reevaluates Role as Hamas Mediator

Latest Developments Doha is reevaluating its role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on April 17. Al Thani claimed that Qatar “has seen the misuse of this mediation and its employment for narrow political …

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Putin’s plan to depopulate Ukraine

Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, is in danger of becoming a “second Aleppo” amid a surge in Russian airstrikes, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov warned this week. In an April 17 interview with The Guardian, Terekhov said that unless Ukraine urgently receives additional air defenses from the country’s partners, Kharkiv would suffer …

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Hamas Leader to Meet With Erdogan in Turkey

Latest Developments Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on April 17 that he plans to meet Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Turkey over the coming weekend, calling Haniyeh the “leader of the Palestinian cause.” In a speech to lawmakers, Erdogan said, “Even if only I, Tayyip Erdogan, remain, I will …

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Iran and Israel’s Dangerous Gambit

Iran’s April 13 attack on Israel was a watershed moment in the countries’ history. The attack involved the first-ever direct strikes launched from Iranian territory onto Israeli soil, with an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles fired in a single military operation by Iran. The decision to retaliate directly against Israel’s …

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Why President Zelensky Is Purging His Inner Circle

Zelensky and Yermak find themselves tied to one another and somewhat interdependent: the former on the staffing policy of his head of administration, the latter on the political survival of his patron. President Volodymyr Zelensky is continuing his large-scale purge of the Ukrainian leadership in an attempt to achieve greater …

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Hamas leader to visit Turkey for talks with Erdogan

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, will travel to Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with President Tayyip Erdogan, while Ankara’s top diplomat met the Hamas leader during a visit to Doha on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Turkey, a NATO member, has denounced Israel’s offensive in Gaza …

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The Five Futures of Russia

And How America Can Prepare for Whatever Comes Next Vladimir Putin happened to turn 71 last October 7, the day Hamas assaulted Israel. The Russian president took the rampage as a birthday present; it shifted the context around his aggression in Ukraine. Perhaps to show his appreciation, he had his …

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