Middle East

By Mehmet Ozalp – (The Conversation) – Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the incumbent president and main political actor in Turkish politics for the last 16 years, has won yet another election with a majority vote of 52%. The election was held in the climate of a two-year state of emergency, Erdogan’s considerable weight on Turkish media, […]

Iran

Trump Admin. Tries to Strong-Arm World into Halting Iranian Oil Imports by Nov. 4

AFP

Washington (AFP) – The United States warned Tuesday that countries around the world must stop buying Iranian oil before November 4 or face a renewed round of American economic sanctions. A senior State Department official warned foreign capitals “we’re not granting waivers” and described tightening the noose on Tehran as “one of our top national […]

Syria

Defying US, Syrian Troops Launch Assault on Daraa City as Civilians Flee

Mohamad Abazeed

With Tony Gamal-Gabriel in Beirut Daraa (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s army launched an assault on the flashpoint southern city of Daraa Tuesday, state media said, after a week of deadly bombardment on the nearby countryside caused mass displacement. Government forces have set their sights on retaking the south of the country, a strategic area that […]

Turkey

Five Reasons Why Erdogan Won Turkey’s Election

Stuart Williams

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a decisive victory in weekend elections, scuppering predictions that his popularity was on the wane after 15 years in power. Erdogan, 64, secured a new presidential term with enhanced powers in an outright first round victory against his main rival Muharrem Ince who failed to end […]

Featured

No, Iran’s Grand Bazaar Protest doesn’t mean the Government or Economy is Collapsing

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tuesday’s protests at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran were in many ways the opposite of the small-town clashes that broke out last January. These were rallies of the economically privileged, such as people who sell foreign smartphones to Iran’s middle classes, and members of those middle classes themselves. Neither protest […]

Iraq

Iraq bombs meeting of Daesh leaders in Syria; kills high-value targets

Middle East Monitor

Iraq has launched an air attack on a gathering of Daesh leaders inside neighbouring Syria, killing 45 members of the hardline militant group, its military said on Saturday. F-16 fighter jets destroyed three houses on Friday which were connected by a trench in the town of Hajin, where the leaders were meeting. Those killed included […]

Climate Change

Is Fertile Crescent Drying up? Neighbors’ Dams, Global Heating, and Iraq’s Low Tigris

Niqash

Baghdad (Niqash.org) – In Baghdad, locals have been fretting about dramatic falls in the level of the Tigris river. The government has a plan. Only problem is, that plan requires billions in funding that Iraq does not have. The passengers in the small bus all peer out anxiously as the vehicle crosses the Sanak bridge […]

Featured

Warning to US: Erdogan has used same techniques as Trump to de-Democratize Turkey

Juan Cole

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, began his legitimate political career at the turn of this century with a push for more political pluralism in a Turkey that had long been dominated by an elite, secular military. Now that he has won another term, Erdogan’s rise as an authoritarian strong man is a key […]

Iraq

In Post-ISIL Iraq, Cleric al-Sadr adds PM Haidar al-Abadi in Quest for Gov’t of National Unity

AFP

Najaf (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr on Saturday said they had formed an alliance in a bid to create a new government after May polls. Sadr’s joint list with communists won 54 seats in the legislative elections to become the biggest bloc in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament, while […]