![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-middle-east.jpg)
Latest Articles about Middle East
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wikimedia-640x435.jpg)
Iranian Influence in Nakhchivan: Impact on Azerbaijani-Armenian Conflict
Iran has traditionally had enormous influence in Nakhchivan, the large western exclave of Azerbaijan. Partially, this is an outcome of history—Nakhchivan’s population was more Persianized than other portions of Azerbaijan. But more recently, and perhaps more importantly, Iranian influence stemmed from the fact that it... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/muqtada-al-sadr1-640x427.jpg)
Three Key Players Shaping Moqtada al-Sadr’s Further Expansion Into Iraqi Politics
In the May 12 Iraqi parliamentary elections, a party led by the anti-American Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Sa’iroon (Marching Forward), won the most seats. The electoral alliance Sa’iroon placed way ahead of electoral slates led by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and former Prime Minister... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/jakarta-post-640x427.jpg)
Briefs
Syria: Government Forces Move on the South Syrian government forces have begun their assault on parts of Syria’s southwest, effectively ending a ceasefire agreement in place since last year and raising fears that Iranian-backed fighters could be left to infiltrate the area. In the weeks... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/financialtribune-640x440.jpg)
Russian Government Approves Draft Convention on Legal Status of Caspian Sea
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree, on June 21, approving the Draft Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. And he encouraged President Vladimir Putin to ultimately sign the Convention (Pravo.gov.ru, June 22). Even though the complete official text of the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/rudaw.jpg)
Rosneft in Kurdistan: A Neglected but Critical Aspect of Russian Regional Strategy
Rosneft and Gazprom function primarily as arms of the Russian state (Jamestown.org, March 8). Although they are in business to make money for themselves, these state-owned firms are also expected to serve the Russian government and Vladimir Putin’s interest, as well as that of all... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/twitter-640x480.jpg)
‘Security Belt’: The UAE’s Tribal Counterterrorism Strategy in Yemen
As international attention is focused on the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) led coalition's campaign to capture the strategic Yemeni port city of al-Hudaydah from the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God-Houthi) movement, the coalition continues to wage a war against al-Qaeda in the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/23796d2996d44fb2afbbc503d213ac3f_18-640x360.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Nakhchivan-military-parade.jpg)
Nakhchivan Again Site of Broader and More Dangerous Geopolitical Competition
Ankara’s announcement last week (June 6) that it will begin building a railroad up to the Turkish border with Nakhchivan later this year, combined with news of Baku’s redeployment of military forces along the Armenian border of that non-contiguous portion of Azerbaijan (see EDM, June... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Caspian-Flotilla-EDM-June-7-2018-640x411.jpg)
Russia’s Caspian Flotilla, Dominant at Sea, Gains New Shore-Landing Capability
As the five Caspian littoral states—Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iran—move toward an agreement on the re-division of the Caspian Sea (see EDM, November 7, 2017), an action made necessary by the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow has strengthened its flotilla there in order... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Avigdor-Lieberman-and-Sergei-Shoigu-EDM-June-7-2018-640x360.jpg)
Russia, Israel and Iran Strike a Deal in Syria
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visited Moscow, on May 31, for talks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian top brass. Lieberman was accompanied by several of his country’s top military officials, including the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) military intelligence chief, Major General Tamir... MORE