
Latest Articles about Middle East

Recent Trends in Sino-Israeli Relations Bely Lasting Warm Ties
Introduction On May 19, the Israeli Embassy in China protested what it called “blatant anti-Semitism” on a Chinese international news program, after the CGTN broadcaster Zheng Junfeng (郑俊峰) openly wondered whether the U.S. position toward Israel was the result of the influence of “wealthy Jews... MORE

Turkey Conducting Targeted Killings of PKK Leaders in Iraq: What’s Next?
Northern Iraq has long been a safe haven for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is a Kurdish militant group recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and European Union. The group has been waging an armed struggle in Turkey since 1984.... MORE

New Transport Routes in Central Asia and Caucasus Trigger Intra-Regional Competition
Perhaps not surprisingly, the development of railways in Central Asia and of shipping routes and pipelines across the Caspian Sea are routinely characterized as elements of geopolitical competition among major outside powers, including Russia, China, Turkey, the United States, Iran and India (see EDM, February... MORE

Iranian-Backed Iraqi Militias Deter Turkish Intervention in Sinjar
In February, indications of an incoming Turkish military operation targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Sinjar, northern Iraq led to a flurry of Iranian-backed militia activity targeting Turkey. Qais al-Khazali, leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), one of the most prominent Iranian-aligned militias in... MORE

Pakistan Braces for U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan through Extra-Regional Partnerships
While the United States is expected to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan well before its September 11 deadline, the countries bordering the violence-plagued nation are enhancing their capacity to combat a potential new wave of terrorism. The chaos emanating from Afghanistan poses a large security... MORE

Iran Drives Development of Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor
Back in 2016, Iran put forward a regional initiative to expand the Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor, which, in addition to the Islamic Republic itself, involves Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. This multimodal corridor begins from the Gulf... MORE

Iranian-Azerbaijani Relations Under the New Raisi Administration
Despite a rapprochement of sorts in 2019 (see EDM, March 20, 2019), Iran’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan faced new strains and challenges during the final year of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency (set to end on August 3, 2021), especially following the outbreak of the... MORE

Putin’s Predictable Syrian Compromise Amidst Hostile Russian Behavior
It took a telephone call from United States President Joseph Biden last Friday (July 9) afternoon to convince President Vladimir Putin to abandon his “principled” stance on upholding Syria’s sovereignty and to grant consent to keeping the corridor for delivering humanitarian aid to the rebel-controlled... MORE

Arrested and Released: A Profile of Iranian-Backed Militia Commander Qassim Musleh
On May 26, Iraqi security forces arrested Qassim Musleh, a prominent Shia militia leader. He is the commander of the strategically important western Iraq sector within the Iranian-backed militia umbrella organization, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Authorities were not quick to provide media sources with... MORE

The Long Arm of Turkish Drones: A Post-Mortem Analysis of the Life and Times of Syrian Born PKK Leader Sofi Nureddin
Contemporary Turkish counterterrorism campaigns rest on sophisticated, close cooperation between the Turkish military and national intelligence with a pronounced use of drones. This was reflected in a recent operation, which targeted one of the top Syrian-Kurdish figures of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), Halef al-Muhammad,... MORE