Middle East

Dr Umud Shokri ushukrik ( Middle East Monitor ) – As Turkiye’s economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, its energy demand is also increasing, leading to a growing concern over the country’s dependence on energy imports, which is seen as a threat to its national security. In 2022, Turkiye’s energy import expenses […]

China

Can China broker Peace in Yemen – and further Beijing’s Middle East Strategy in the Process?

The Conversation

By Mahad Darar, Colorado State University | – After nearly a decade of grinding conflict, Yemen looks to be inching toward a peace deal. Talks between the Houthi movement controlling much of the country’s north and Saudi Arabia, the regional power backing an anti-Houthi coalition in the war, are ongoing and being encouraged by international […]

Featured

Iran’s President Raisi in Damascus for Victory Lap, Expanded Trade

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Hard line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took a victory lap in Syria this week. He led an Iranian delegation of officials and cabinet members to Damascus for consultations with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Among those in the entourage were Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, and Oil […]

Featured

Yes, Mr. DeSantis, Palestinians are Indigenous, Descended from the Canaanites, and Palestinian Identity is not New

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Here is Part 2 of my argument with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis concerning his uninformed and bigoted comments about Palestinians. Part I is here Who are the Palestinians? Nowadays, they are the Arabic-speaking inhabitants of the area stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, who have gained a political […]

Authoritarianism

Tunisia Doubles Down on Democratic Rollback

Human Rights Watch

Published in: Foreign Policy Eric Goldstein Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa Division goldsteinricky ( Human Rights Watch ) – Some coups and power grabs start with the arrest of the leader of the political opposition. In Tunisia, it took almost two years for President Kais Saied to jail Rached Ghannouchi, the longtime […]

Iraq

What the Iraq War can teach the US about avoiding a Quagmire in Ukraine – 3 key Lessons

The Conversation

By Patrick James, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences | – Leaked Pentagon papers showed in early April 2023 that the U.S. is allegedly following the inner workings of Russia’s intelligence operations and is also spying on Ukraine, adding a new dimension to the United States’ involvement in the Ukraine war. While the […]

Climate Crisis

Turkiye opens Europe’s Largest Solar Plant, with 3 mn. homemade Panels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Europe’s biggest solar farm has come online, and its location is a surprise. It is near Konya, Turkiye (Turkey). Konya, a city of 1.4 million, is known for its religious conservatism. It is the site of the tomb of the famed mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273). Nowadays it is […]

BDS Occupied Territories

Barcelona, Liège, Oslo: The Movement to Boycott Illegal Israeli Squatters in Palestine moves to Municipalities

Ramzy Baroud

Dr Ramzy Baroud RamzyBaroud A succession of events starting in Barcelona, Spain, in February, and followed in Liège, Belgium, and Oslo, Norway, in April sent a strong message to Israel: The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) is alive and well. In Barcelona, the city’s Mayor cancelled a twinning agreement with the Israeli city […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Occupation seizes 70 Palestinian Homes in Hebron, will Turn them over to Israeli Squatters

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – Israeli occupation authorities have started plans to confiscate 70 Palestinian homes in the Old City of the southern occupied West Bank governorate of Hebron. Director of the Hebron Construction Committee Imad Hamdan said the Israeli occupation plans to hand over the Palestinian homes to Israeli settlers. Hamdan added: “The […]