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Latest Articles about Middle East
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Briefs
Mauritania: Blasphemy Case Raises Islamist Ire Mauritania’s efforts to curtail Islamist extremism have seen success in recent years, but protesters calling for a blogger to be put to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed show that tensions continue to simmer. The blogger in question,... MORE
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North–South Transport Corridor: Russia Wins, Armenia Loses
Russian, Iranian and Azerbaijani presidents—Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani and Ilham Aliyev, respectively—held a trilateral summit in Tehran, on November 1. They stressed the necessity to complete the Resht–Astara railway as soon as possible, with a view to developing the North–South Transport Corridor (NSTC). The NSTC... MORE
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Tehran Summit Appears to Open the Way to Delimitation of Caspian Sea
The November 1 tripartite summit in Tehran among the presidents of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan appears to have opened the way to resolving one of the most neuralgic problems of the post-Soviet era: the delimitation of the Caspian Sea among the five littoral states, the... MORE
Pushing Back Against the KRG: A Profile of Iraq’s Dr. Hunain al-Qaddo
The decision by Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG), to hold the September 25 referendum on the independence of the KRG has led to significant conflict inside Iraq. In the middle of October, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), including groups... MORE
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Putin Looks Forward to Meeting With Trump in Vietnam
Russia remains a dark cloud hanging over the White House, but United States President Donald Trump nevertheless intends to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit (November 5–11), in Da Nang, Vietnam. Investigations into Russia’s interference in the... MORE
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Russian Military Presence in Caspian Sea: Protection of National Interests or Military Muscle Flexing?
The Russian Caspian Flotilla conducted several military exercises in the Caspian Sea over the last two months—part of drills connected to the summer training period. More than 20 warships, support vessels, minesweepers, amphibious boats and landing craft were involved (Mil.ru, October 10, 14 ). Moreover,... MORE
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Sudan’s Controversial Rapid Support Forces Bolster Saudi Efforts in Yemen
In late September, the military leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Muhammad Hamdan Daqlu (a.k.a. “Hametti”), unintentionally sparked controversy by announcing that 412 Sudanese soldiers had been killed in the war in Yemen, a figure of which most Sudanese people were wholly unaware... MORE
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Israeli Military Exposes Vulnerabilities in Joint Russian-Syrian Air Defense
On October 16, the Israeli Air Force launched a precision attack, in the Damascus area, against a Russian-supplied S-200 air-defense battery under the control of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). The aerial raid was conducted partly in response to a March incident involving its aircraft... MORE
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Was King Salman’s Visit to Moscow a Turning Point in Russian-Saudi Relations?
When Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was welcomed in Moscow, on October 5–8, both Russian and Saudi media sources rushed to call his visit an important milestone in bilateral relations (TASS, October 8). But with the initial euphoria from Salman’s trip to... MORE