June, 2022

• 21 June

  13 Killed in Bus Ambush in Northern Syria

  

  Eleven soldiers and two civilians were killed in an attack on a bus in northern Syria on Monday, the Syrian military said in a statement. The bus was ambushed at 6:30 am local time while en route from the Ar Raqqah Governorate to the central province of Homs in an …

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• 21 June

  Go Big in Saudi Arabia

  

  Biden Should Strike a New Strategic Compact With the Kingdom What do you do with an oil-rich Arab leader that you can’t live with, but also can’t live without? That’s the dilemma President Joe Biden is confronting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Since the beginning of …

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• 21 June

  Counterterror ops rake in ‘high-value targets’ in Iraq, Syria

  

  Multiple counterterrorism operations against Islamic State hideouts in both Iraq and Syria in recent weeks have taken out men whom officials claim were leaders within the international terrorist organization. As the fifth anniversary of Iraqi forces’ retaking of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) approaches, counterterrorism operations in the country …

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• 21 June

  US, Iran still trying to close gap on nuclear deal

  

  The Biden administration may be considering options for a Plan B if nuclear talks fail, but backchannel diplomacy is continuing. US officials and nonproliferation experts warn Iran needs only weeks to produce enough weapons-grade fuel to build a bomb, raising pressure on the Biden administration to secure a deal that …

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• 21 June

  Israel dissolves parliament, declares new elections in October

  

  Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will take over as prime minister. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid agreed a short while ago to dissolve the Israeli parliament next week. With this, the country will see its fifth election in just three-and-a-half years. In a joint statement, Bennett and …

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• 21 June

  Russia, Iran won’t endorse Turkish military operation in Syria

  

  At the latest Astana Group meeting on Syria, Russia and Iran tried to soothe Turkey by rejecting the Kurdish-led self-rule in northern Syria in a joint declaration this week. Turkey failed to garner Russian and Iranian backing for a fresh military intervention against Syrian Kurdish forces at the meeting of …

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• 21 June

  No breakthrough in Turkey’s talks with Sweden, Finland over joining NATO

  

  Discussions between Turkey, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries’ proposed NATO membership have ended inconclusively as Ankara showed no signs of abandoning its hardline position. Discussions between Turkey, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries’ NATO membership held in Brussels today ended inconclusively as Ankara showed no signs of …

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• 21 June

  Despite Western arms, Ukraine is outgunned in the east

  

  Holed up in a bombed-out house in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian troops keep a careful accounting of their ammunition, using a door as a sort of ledger. Scrawled in chalk on the door are figures for mortar shells, smoke shells, shrapnel shells, flares. Despite the heavy influx of weapons from the …

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• 21 June

  Putin alert for signs of eroding Western unity on Ukraine

  

  Vladimir Putin looked very much at ease. In a much-viewed video this month, the Russian president settled deep into his armchair, wearing an expression of bored nonchalance. In a matter-of-fact tone, he likened himself to a modern-day Peter the Great, the empire-building Russian czar, and suggested that the conquest of …

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• 21 June

  US, Iranian military vessels have near miss in Persian Gulf

  

  The United States and Iran had their latest near miss Monday, after three vessels controlled by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps buzzed two American ships at what the U.S. military called “dangerously high speed.” The USS Sirocco, a Cyclone-class patrol ship, and the USNS Choctaw County, a fast transport vessel, …

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