Latest Articles about Middle East

THREE SECESSIONIST LEADERSHIPS ANNOUNCE JOINT AGENDA

The de facto leaders of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria met in Sukhumi on June 12-14. The guest delegations reached Sukhumi via Russia, thus nullifying any deniability of Russia's sponsorship of this exercise. The three leaderships had agreed in December 2005 in Moscow to hold... MORE

RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES LOSE CONTROL OVER INGUSHETIA

On the morning of June 9, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Nalgiev, commander of the special-task police squad (OMON) in the republic of Ingushetia, left his home in Karabulak to go to a planning meeting at the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Unlike other days, this time his... MORE

IRAN’S NUCLEAR DEMANDS: TOWARD A NEW ERA OF CONTAINMENT?

On May 31, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a statement that the United States would "join the EU-3 talks" with Tehran "should Iran verifiably suspend all of its enrichment-related activities." The announcement came as a surprise, since the U.S. administration had previously refused... MORE

RUSSIA TAKES ANOTHER STEP AWAY FROM DEMOCRACY

Last Friday, June 9, the Russian State Duma approved legislation that would eliminate the voting option "against all" in the ballots provided for elections at all levels, from local to presidential. According to Boris Gryzlov, the chairman of the Duma, this step is aimed at... MORE

RUSSIA VIEWS THE VIENNA AGREEMENTS ON IRAN AS VICTORY

The five-power agreement on Iran reached in Vienna on June 1 represented a victory for Russian diplomacy, in that Moscow and China's tenacity forced Washington to consent to direct participation in talks with Iran, provided it ceases uranium reprocessing and enrichment under IAEA verification (www.payvand.com... MORE

Morocco Cracks Down on Islamist Opposition Group JSA

In a major operation in late May, Moroccan security forces arrested over 300 members of al-Adl wa al-Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality Association—JSA), including ranking leaders, over vague allegations that the group was plotting a violent overthrow of the monarchy (https://www.aljamaa.com). The arrests were made in... MORE

USTINOV’S FIRING REVEALS CLAN MANEUVERING INSIDE KREMLIN

Russian President Vladimir Putin is known to have a penchant for surprise cadre changes that invariably leave experts second-guessing the move. His decision to sack Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov, taken late last Thursday (June 1) and approved by the astonished Federation Council at the next morning’s... MORE