In The News

Turkey-Syria Tensions Escalate: Al Jazeera

Linah Alsaafin and Zaheena Rasheed February 28, 2020
The Syrian government's indiscriminate air raids, backed by Russian airpower, aim to crush opposition forces in Idlib. The attacks killed more than 30 Turkish troops. “The toll is the deadliest suffered by the Turkish army since it intervened in Syria in 2016 and is raising fears of a direct confrontation between Turkey and Russia on the battlefield,” reports Al Jazeera. By one rescue worker...

Oman’s New Sultan: Economist

February 17, 2020
Although Haitham bin Tariq’s accession to the position of Oman’s sultan, while surprising, went out with a hitch. Haitham plans to continue down the path laid down by the late Qaboos bin Said. In 1970, backed by the British, Qaboos took the throne from his reclusive father and charted a course towards steady development. As a recent article for the Economist notes, “though it is not as oil rich...

Lebanon on “Brink of Chaos”: Washington Post

Liz Sly February 17, 2020
Lebanon’s peaceful protests that began in October have turned violent in the face of further economic collapse in early 2020. For instance, a protest in late January saw “heavily armed troops joined riot police at the scene, some carrying shoulder-launched rockets.” Protestors and security forces have begun clashing in recent weeks, with police resorting to firing rubber bullets, teargas and...

Trump’s Middle East Plan: Time

Joseph Hincks February 3, 2020
The Trump administration released an 80-apage plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan would create a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem and “permit Israel to extend sovereignty over all major settlements blocs in the West Bank, uphold Jerusalem as ‘Israel’s undivided capital,’ and require the Palestinians to concede far more land to Israel than in past proposals,”...

UN Urges Probe of Alleged Saudi Hacking: NPR

Avie Schneider and Shannon Bond January 22, 2020
The United Nations has urged a probe after an investigation pointed to a 2018 WhatsApp message, sent by an account of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to the CEO of Amazon that when opened allowed exposed contents of the phone. The target, Jeff Bezos, commissioned the investigation and report, reviewed by UN human rights experts. “The forensic analysis assessed that the intrusion likely was...

Iran Nuclear Deal Should Be Kept: TehranTimes

January 13, 2020
Iran’s government censors its media, but cannot totally mask public desire for restraint in relations with the West. US President Donald Trump withdrew from an international agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, on limiting Iran’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for an end to sanctions. Amid tensions with the United States starting in 2020, Iran withdrew from the...

Iran Strikes Iraq Bases: Washington Post

Karen DeYoung, Paul Sonne and Dan Lamothe January 8, 2020
Iran launched more than 10 ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases with US military personnel, described as retaliation for the death of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani at US hands. Analysts describe the missile attack as restrained, though Iran warned it would meet a US response with additional attacks, including countries hosting US bases. Iran claimed casualties; the United States and Iraq...