Middle East

Written byRaseef22 This post by Mohamed Yousry, was first published in Arabic by Raseef 22* on February 15, 2025. This edited version was translated into English and published on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. ( Global Voices ) – The West Asia and North Africa region is facing a water scarcity crisis. […]

Iran

Why Is Saudi Arabia Seeking To Mediate A Deal Between U.S. And Iran?

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/RL ) – After facilitating the first high-level talks between U.S. and Russian officials since the Ukraine war began, Saudi Arabia is now reportedly positioning itself as a mediator in another high-stakes negotiation — this time between the United States and Iran. CNN, which first broke the story, reports that […]

Featured

Palestinian Life Expectancy in Gaza cut from 75.5 to 40.6 Years by Israeli Total War: The Lancet

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – An article just published in The Lancet by Prof Michel Guillot et al. found that the campaign against Gaza civilians of the extremist government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lowered the life expectancy in the Strip during the first year of the war by nearly half. In 2023 the […]

Featured

Interview with Miko Peled, Director of Palestine House of Freedom

Fariba Amini

Interview by Fariba Amini with Miko Peled, Israeli peace activist and Director of Palestine House of Freedom. Photographs by Fariba Amini © 2025. F.A. You were raised in a Zionist family. You also served in the Israeli army. Your father, Matti Peled was a general during the 1967 war. You sister, Nurit who is an […]

Syria

Syria: Doubts Increase over new Regime’s Commitment to Women’s Right and Inclusivity

The Conversation

By Katya Alkhateeb, University of Essex and Faten Ghosn, University of Essex (The Conversation) – The capture of Damascus by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the collapse of the regime of Bashar al-Assad last December sent shockwaves through Syria’s political landscape, heralding an unprecedented shift in power. The rise to power of HTS, formerly the […]

African-Americans

Ta-Nehisi Coates: If Democrats can’t draw the Line at Genocide, they can’t Draw the Line at Democracy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ta-Nehisi Coates and Angela Davis spoke at the University of Michigan’s Rackham Auditorium on February 19, 2025, interviewed by my colleague Angela Dillard, the vice provost for undergraduate education. The event was arranged by the Letters, Sciences and Arts Student Government. It was a wide-ranging conversation, and I only want […]

Israel/ Palestine

UK Society of Authors’ Lukewarm Response to Israeli Raid on Palestinian Bookshop Provokes Resignation

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – British travel writer Matthew Teller has resigned from the Society of Authors (SoA) in protest at the organisation’s response to Israel’s arrest of Palestinian booksellers in occupied East Jerusalem. Teller’s resignation came after Israeli police arrested his friend and co-author Mahmoud Muna, along with Muna’s nephew Ahmad Muna, from […]

Featured

Lebanon at a Crossroads: Can Saudi Arabia Counter Iran’s Waning Influence?

Hamdullah Baycar

Trabzon, Turkey (Special to Informed Comment, Feature) – The recent visit of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Lebanon on 23 January marks a critical moment for Saudi Arabia-Lebanon bilateral relations. This visit comes after years of strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, driven by the ongoing rivalry between Saudi Arabia […]

Donald Trump

History unearthed: What if Trump succeeded in ethnically Cleansing Gaza?

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor ) – US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner said in a 2020 interview that he had read 25 books on the Middle East. Such intellectual bravado wouldn’t matter if it weren’t for the fact that Kushner served as the President’s Middle East advisor, and was essentially the main architect of […]