May, 2022

• 28 May

  Israeli leadership divided on Iran deal

  

  Israel’s top security and intelligence officials can’t agree on whether Israel is better off with or without an Iran nuclear deal. Israel’s top defense and security brass is engaged in a tense dispute over the handling of Iran’s nuclear program. The drama is reminiscent of the deep disagreement among Israel’s …

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• 28 May

  US, Kurdish officials call Turkish threats of military operation in Syria ‘serious’

  

  Ankara’s threats come amid a spat with NATO allies over Finland and Sweden’s request to join the Western alliance. Turkey’s National Security Council said on Thursday that Turkey’s “existing and future military operations” along its southern borders were necessary for the country’s security but that they did not target the …

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• 28 May

  Erdogan Expands Ambitions for “Safe Zone” in Northern Syria

  

  The Turkish president continues his aggressive games toward Syria, taking advantage of the current international instability caused by the war in Ukraine. He announced to the international community that his regime continues to seek the establishment of a 30 km-deep safe zone inside Syrian territory. There are preparations being made …

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• 28 May

  Arab Identity does not Represent all Syrians, Says Opposition Kurdish Official

  

  The current Syrian identity does not represent all Syrians, a Syrian Kurdish opposition official said Saturday, arguing that other non-Arabic-speaking communities in the country existed and deserved special status. “The current Syrian Arab identity does not apply to everyone, as there are many other components such as Kurds, Turkmen, and …

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• 28 May

  Among Them a Brigadier General. Assad’s Forces Suffer Losses in Syrian Desert

  

  On Wednesday, pro-Assad news outlets mourned the death of Brigadier-General Nashwan al-Saad, who hails from the city of al-Qaryatan in the eastern countryside of Homs, during a patrol of Assad’s forces in the Syrian Badia. In parallel, the Fourth Division militia lost contact with a lieutenant colonel and 10 members …

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• 28 May

  Pentagon: Russia Gradually Withdraws from Syria

  

  A senior Pentagon official revealed that Russian forces began to gradually withdraw their troops from various parts of Syria — specifically from the Hemeimeem air base southeast of Lattakia. The forces withdrawn include thousands of infantry, aviation, and engineering units. In a statement to Sky News, the official added that …

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• 28 May

  Recap: Regime and Kurds Threatened by Turkish “Safe Zone” Schemes

  

  A “Safe-zone” for a million Syrian refugees to return to. That’s the plan Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan has promised to implement, only a year before the next Turkish general elections. In fact, and as the presence of more than 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey continues to cause controversy …

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• 28 May

  Russia’s grain blockade may require US intervention

  

  The American general slated to become NATO’s next supreme allied commander warned Thursday that Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports could enable terrorist networks in other parts of the world and may require U.S. military intervention to ensure global markets don’t become destabilized. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of all U.S. …

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• 28 May

  Iran seizes 2 Greek tankers in Persian Gulf as tensions rise

  

  Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized two Greek oil tankers Friday in helicopter-launched raids in the Persian Gulf, officials said. The action appeared to be retaliation for Athens’ assistance in the U.S. seizure of crude oil from an Iranian-flagged tanker this week in the Mediterranean Sea over violating Washington’s crushing sanctions …

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• 28 May

  US is preparing to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine

  

  The Biden administration is preparing to send advanced long-range rocket systems to Ukraine as the country suffers losses in the east from advancing Russian forces, said U.S. administration and congressional staffers. The move, which could be announced as early as next week, involves the provision of the Multiple Launch Rocket …

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