Arab World

By Samira Nasirzadeh and Eyad Alrefai | – Relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have rarely been worse, regarding the attacks on the oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman – for which both sides blame each other. Nevertheless, in the history of relations between the two countries, […]

Iran

Russia is Calling Trump’s Bluff on Iran and Syria, and Winning Big

Reese Erlich

By trying to isolate Russia and Iran, the US is only isolating itself. (Moscow) – President Donald Trump won’t go to war with Iran. That was the prediction of Russian experts I interviewed in Moscow during the height of the US-Iran crisis in May. They were right. To date, Trump has threatened military action against […]

Iraq

As Trump heads for Another gotten-up Mideast War, Iraqi Youth stage a 20K-Strong Peace Festival

Tomdispatch

By Laura Gottesdiener | – (Tomdispatch.com) – There’s a dark joke going around Baghdad these days. Noof Assi, a 30-year-old Iraqi peace activist and humanitarian worker, told it to me by phone. Our conversation takes place in late May just after the Trump administration has announced that it would add 1,500 additional U.S. troops to […]

Bashar al-Assad

War Crimes: Syria’s Assad has Systematically Targeted Hospitals as a Battle Tactic

Middle East Monitor

By Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal | – Although many reports touch on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, little has been said about the medical situation in the war-torn country, and the plight of its doctors who remain there. The conflict has raged for eight years with no end in sight. The uprising against Bashar […]

Yemen

In War-Torn Yemen a Mother and 6 Newborns Die every Two Hours during Labor

Middle East Monitor

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated that “every two hours, a mother and six newborns die in Yemen due to complications in pregnancy or childbirth.” The data was included in a report issued by the organisation, Monday. UNICEF explained that “the years of war in Yemen have led to worsening the condition of women […]

Featured

Bipartisan move in Congress to Cancel Trump’s Stealth $8 bn Arms sale to Saudis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dan De Luce at NBC News reports on a bipartisan attempt in Congress to block Trump’s sidelining of the legislature in fast-tracking an $8 bn arms sale to Saudi Arabia that includes components useful in building ballistic missiles. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified the step on the grounds of […]

Syria

Russia/Syria: Flurry of Prohibited Weapons Attacks

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – The Russian–Syrian joint military operation has used internationally banned and other indiscriminate weapons in unlawful attacks on civilians in northwest Syria in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch said today. According to the United Nations, the area is home to 3 million civilians, at least half of whom […]

Sudan

Sudan Democracy Protesters Reject Negotiations with Military after Bloody Crackdown

Middle East Monitor

Sudan’s military rulers offered to resume talks with opposition groups on Wednesday, two days after security forces mounted a deadly raid on a protest camp, but the opposition rejected the invitation, Reuters reports. Medics linked to the opposition said the death toll from Monday’s operation and subsequent unrest had risen to 108 and that it […]

Featured

Hezbollah’s Nasrallah: War on Iran will Endanger US Forces in Region & Kushner Plan for Palestine is “Historic Crime”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Hasan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hizbullah (Hezbollah), the Lebanese Shiite party-militia, gave a speech Friday in which he raked the Trump administration’s Middle East policy over the coals. Nasrallah said that the US kept accusing Hizbullah of having factories in Lebanon for the construction of precision rockets. He said his […]