Middle East

By Gary M. Grossman | – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is presiding over the damaging loss of value of the Turkish currency, the lira, against foreign currencies. It’s the most severe economic crisis the country has faced since he assumed power. Erdoğan has been the dominant figure in Turkish politics for almost two decades. […]

Iran

Iran Parliament rakes Pres. Rouhani over Coals on Economy as Centrists Weaken

Eric Randolph

Tehran (AFP) – Iran’s parliament declared its dissatisfaction with President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, voting to reject his answers after grilling him over the deteriorating economy. It was the first time Rouhani had been summoned by parliament in his five years in power, and MPs demanded answers on unemployment, rising prices and the sharp depreciation […]

Yemen

Yemen: Saudis, UAE, US and Houthis All Guilty of War Crimes – UN

AFP

By Nina LARSON | – Geneva (AFP) – All sides in Yemen’s bloody conflict may have committed war crimes, UN investigators said Tuesday, highlighting deadly air strikes, rampant sexual violence, and the recruitment of young children as soldiers. In their first report, a team of UN-mandated investigators said they had “reasonable grounds to believe that […]

Featured

Saudi Crown Prince vows Yemeni Children will “Shiver,” but is He on Way Out?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Mohamed Bin Salman, the thirty-two-year-old crown prince of Saudi Arabia, is finding his wings clipped, by his father and by the heavy hand of reality, so severely that some are speculating about whether he can survive politically. Alkhaleejonline.net reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman recently met with his […]

Iran

Iran Launches Suit at UN Court against Trump Sanctions

AFP

By Jan Hennop and Roland Lloyd Parry | – The Hague (AFP) – Iran demanded Monday that the UN’s top court order the United States to suspend nuclear-linked sanctions against Tehran, but Washington vowed to “vigorously” fend off the legal challenge. The Islamic Republic launched a suit at the International Court of Justice over US […]

Iraq

What 15 Years of US Occupation have Produced: Angry Iraqis

Reese Erlich

Militant protests continue in the oil rich city of Basra

Featured

Iran Parliament Fires Finance Minister, as US Sanctions Bite (Cost Iran $1.1 Trillion)

Juan Cole

Iran’s parliament on Sunday fired the Finance Minister, Massoud Karbasian, in a severe political setback for president Hassan Rouhani. The Iranian rial has fallen dramatically against the dollar in recent months, eating into the purchasing power of Iranian consumers who buy goods from abroad. Supporters of Karbasian in parliament clashed physically with his critics, leading […]

Israel/ Palestine

Trump Admin. to Withdraw from Palestinian Refugees All Rights of Return

Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The United States Donald Trump administration will announce a suspension of funding to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and the rejection of the right of return for Palestinian refugees. According to Hebrew-language news outlets, the US administration is expected to announce its new policy early September, […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli PM Netanyahu Courting Right to Split Europe, Stop Palestinian State

Middle East Monitor

London (Middle East Monitor) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told reporters accompanying him on his visit to Lithuania that he is seeking to divide the European Union and trying to prevent a consensus over Europe’s position on issues related to the Palestinians and Iran. Before leaving for a tour of the Baltic states, […]