In The News

Iranians Display Unity: Wall Street Journal

Aresu Eqbali and Sune Engel Rasmussen January 6, 2020
The US targeted killing of powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad has united Iranians and their leaders call for retribution. Esmail Qaani vows to carry on Soleimani's work of orchestrating interventions and shadow wars throughout the Middle East, suggests, “The minimum retribution for us is to remove America from the region.” Iran also announced its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear...

Idlib Violence Spurs Refugees: Spiegel

Melanie Amann, Giorgos Christides, Steffen Lüdke, Peter Müller and Maximilian Popp January 6, 2020
Idlib, one of 14 governorates in Syria, has a population of about 3 million people, according to the United Nations. As a rebel stronghold during the Syrian civil war, Idlib is under siege from Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime, with residents desperate to flee to nearby Turkey. “The Idlib offensive could finally mark the end of the war in Syria -- but also the beginning of a new mass exodus,”...

US Kills Iranian Commander: Washington Post

Louisa Loveluck January 3, 2020
The United States used a drone to kill a group of Iranian commanders in Baghdad, including Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a powerful and popular leader of the elite Qud Force. “After a week in which frictions between the two countries had sparked a siege of Baghdad's U.S. Embassy by supporters of an Iranian-backed militia, Thursday's airstrike appeared to be aimed at crippling a force that...

US Embassy in Iraq as Target of Anger: NPR

Larry Kaplow January 1, 2020
Supporters of an Iraqi militia surrounded the US Embassy in Baghdad and breached a gatehouse. The United States held off the group with teargas and blames neighboring Iran for the unrest. After a rocket attack killed a US contractor, the United States responded with airstrikes on five compounds in Syria and Iraq held by the Kataib Hezbollah militia, reports Larry Kaplow for NPR. “U.S. officials...

Lebanon and Syria Sinking in Debt: The Economist

December 23, 2019
Effects of Lebanon’s recent political and economic crisis, stemming from a drop in remittances and bank deposits, have spilled over into Syria. The two nation’s economies have been intertwined for some time. Following the Lebanese civil war (1975-90), Syrian workers helped rebuild the war-torn country. Lebanese banks were once “a safe place for wealthy Syrians to park their cash [and] since the...

Gulf States Reconsider Feud With Qatar: The Economist

December 23, 2019
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ recent decision to take part in the Gulf Cup in Doha has signaled a cooling of tensions since the 2017 rift over an embargo of Qatar by the majority of members in the Gulf Co-operation Council, or GCC. The embargo stemmed from Qatar’s refusal to “comply with a list of demands from the Saudi-led camp, such as cutting ties with Islamist groups and...

Turkey May Close Two Bases: Anadolu Agency

Cigdem Alyanak December 16, 2019
While the current set of US legislators do not agree on much, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, 1915 to 1923. As the Ottoman Empire declined and World War I began, Turkey sided with Germany and accused Armenians of supporting Russia. Targeted by Turks, as many as 1.5 million Armenians died during the period. US President Donald Trump opposed the...