Middle East

AirBnB, Expedia, Tripadvisor Named by UN as Collaborators with Apartheid Israeli Squatter Settlements on Palestinian West Bank

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday released a long-awaited list of 112 companies that do business with Israeli squatters on the Palestinian West Bank. These squatters have most often been covertly sent in by the Israeli government itself to steal Palestinian land, build on […]

Featured

“Swiss Cheese” or “Frankenstein’s Monster?” Arab Leaders Struggle to Describe the Kushner Apartheid Plan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration’s plan for Palestine is so nightmarish that Arab leaders (who rejected it out of hand at a recent Arab League meeting) are having to resort to purple prose to describe it. Senior Saudi prince Turki al-Faisal, who served for two decades as minister of intelligence and also […]

GCC

Gulf Arab Women Are entering the Public Sphere, but must Navigate between Modernity and a Changing Society

The Conversation

By Alainna Liloia | – Arab women, long relegated to the private sphere by law and social custom, are gaining new access to public life. All countries of the Arab Gulf now have workforce “nationalization policies” that aim to reduce dependency on migrant labor by getting more women into the workforce. Saudi Arabia set a […]

Congress

Rattled by Trump’s Erratic Violence, Senate to vote on Forbidding War on Iran without its Approval

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Senate will take up a measure to forbid Trump to go to war with Iran without Congressional approval, writes Daniel Flatley at Bloomberg. Republican senators Mike Lee, Susan Collins and Rand Paul are joining with Democratic senator Tim Kaine in sponsoring the bill. With the support of those Republicans, […]

Donald Trump

On 41st Anniversary, has Trump’s Belligerence Strengthened the Iranian Government?

Farhang Jahanpour

Oxford, UK (Special to Informed Comment) – On February 11, 2020, the Islamic Republic of Iran marks the 41st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Thus, it has defied the Trump administration’s prediction of its demise for two years beyond its allotted time. In his speech at a conference of the MEK (Mojahedin-e […]

Donald Trump

How Iran’s millennials are grappling with Trump’s crippling sanctions

The Conversation

By Manata Hashemi | – In early January, after tensions between Iran and the United States escalated to the brink of war, President Donald Trump announced a detente of sorts, stating, “The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.” It may have sounded like a conciliatory gesture, but the Trump […]

Featured

Israeli Blocking of Palestinian Exports to Jordan Shows reality of Apartheid that the Kushner Plan would only Cement

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli government blockade on Palestinian agricultural exports through Jordan on Sunday illustrates the Apartheid character of Israeli rule over the Palestinians. Palestinian trucks loaded with produce were stopped by quickly-erected Israeli blast walls and forbidden to head into Jordan. The Palestine-Jordan trade in commodities such as vegetables, fruits, olives, […]

Bashar al-Assad

Humanitarian Catastrophe as Syrian Army Advances on Idlib, 750K Displaced since Fall

Middle East Monitor

By Elif Selin Calik | @CalikSelin | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Last December, Robert Malley, president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, penned an article for the Foreign Affairs magazine, addressing the topic: “The Unwanted Wars: Why the Middle East Is More Combustible Than Ever.” Today, at the peak of the […]

War

Yemen: the nightmare continues, with no end in sight

Brian Whitaker

(Al-Bab.com) – The war in Yemen is complicated and it can be difficult to keep track of what’s happening on the ground, not to mention the related peace efforts. A new report from the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies is a useful starting point for anyone wanting a quick catch-up – well, relatively quick, since […]