Month

Archives: Middle East

Will an Emerging Russia-Turkey-Iran Alliance Reshape the Middle East?

By Conn Hallinan | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - The unusual triple alliance coming out of Syria could change the regional balance of power and unhinge NATO — if it…

‘Fake news’: the mainstreaming of Syria conspiracy theories

By Hanaa Hasan | (Middle East Monitor) | - - The sight of yet another chemical attack on civilians in Douma on Saturday 7 April caused the kind of international outrage that…

How does a city get to be ‘smart’? This is how Tel Aviv did it

By Christine Steinmetz | (The Conversation) | - - Smart cities, digital cities, virtual cities, connected cities. Are these just trendy buzzwords? Perhaps. But these types of cities are supported by infrastructure…

Danger: ISIL is defeated, but Raqqa’s people are Devastated and waiting for Accountability

Akshaya Kumar, Deputy United Nations Director | (Human Rights Watch) | - - UN Security Council Meeting Should Address Plight of Raqqa’s Residents The United Nations Security Council meets again today on…

Israeli Marksmen continue to use Peaceful Palestinian Protesters in Gaza for Target Practice: 2 dead, 40 Wounded

Ma'an News Agency | - - Gaza City (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces shot and killed a 24-year-old Palestinian protester in Gaza on Friday afternoon, the second Palestinian to be killed during Friday’s…

Star Wars actor Natalie Portman cancels Award in Israel, hints Netanyahu has gone to the Dark Side

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Natalie Portman has declined the award of the annual Genesis Foundation Prize in Jerusalem on the grounds that she is distressed by recent…

Iran formally switches from dollar to euro

Middle East Monitor | - - Iran’s feud with the US is set to get worse after Tehran announced yesterday that it will start reporting foreign currency amounts in euros rather than…

Who has won the Syrian War in the wake of the fall of ISIL?

Seyed Ali Alavi | ( OpenDemocracy.net) | - - ISIL may have been defeated, but the battle for Syria's political soul is far from over. A Syrian army checkpoint in the town…

Friedman: Does Iran’s Quds Force really Control four Countries and is Israel-Iran War Near?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Thomas Friedman's column this week made several allegations about the danger of an explosive situation in Syria, about which he is certainly correct.…

‘Great March’ for Palestinian Refugees’ Right of Return Endures Bloody Crackdown

By Joey Ayoub and Marwa Fatafta | ( GlobalVoices.org) | - - After months of preparing, tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters launched the “Great Return March” along Gaza's eastern borders with…

Israel to French Mayor: You can’t visit Occupied Palestine if you stand against Occupation

TeleSur | - - Leclerc Patrice, a member of the French Communist Party, has been denied entry into Israel more than once for his support of the BDS movement. France's Foreign Ministry…

With Turkish Troops in Syria, is Erdogan’s Neo-Ottomanism a Diplomatic or Military Project?

By Nicolai Due-Gundersen | (The Conversation) | - - On our third trip to Istanbul, my wife and I visited the 19th century Dolmabahce Palace, once the administrative centre of the Ottoman…

Syria After Trump’s Withdrawal: Top Reasons an “Arab Force” will Fail

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Trump's determination to withdraw US troops from eastern Syria by October, so that GOP candidates for representative and senator can run on…

As Lebanon prepares to vote, Amnesty for the disenfranchised provokes Fierce Debate

Haley Bobseine | (Informed Comment) | - - After almost a decade of multiple postponements stalling the national political process and depriving citizens of their right to vote, Lebanese parliamentary elections will…

Saudi Arabia’s Yemen Campaign escalates into War of Missiles

Khalil Dewan @KhalilDewan | Middle East Monitor | - - As Mohammed Bin Salman’s global tour continues in a bid to stabilise Riyadh’s economy, his foreign policy needs revising to ensure political…

Will Bolton and MEK pull an Iraq War-like Chalabi-type Scam on Iran?

By Nadejda K. Marinova (Author of Ask What You Can Do For Your (New) Country: How Host States Use Diasporas (Oxford University Press, 2017).[1] Informed Comment | - - On the fifteenth…

European Union: Turkey further than ever on Human Rights, Rule of Law

Middle East Monitor | - - Turkey will on Tuesday receive the European Commission’s most critical report since it launched its bid to join the European Union over a decade ago, with…

Trump can’t Actually care much about Syrians if he only let in 11 Refugees this Year

TeleSur | - - "We are seeing the impact of the Trump administration's words and policy and actions that slams the door on refugees," says Oxfam America. The United States has accepted…

The Tragedy of American Great Power Moves on the Middle East: Trump Can, so he Will

By Mohammed Nuruzzaman | (Informed Comment) | - - As assumed, the US, the UK and France launched their coordinated airstrikes on Syria in the early hours of Saturday, April 14 to…

Iraq on Syria Strikes: We’ve seen this Movie and it doesn’t End Well

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iraq's foreign ministry came out strongly against the US, British and French missile strikes on Syria. In a statement issued Saturday, the ministry…