Middle East

The military conflict now escalating in Yemen threatens the lives of more than 250,000 people in the port city Hodeidah while 8 million more people across Yemen already risk starvation. The country is also facing the “worst cholera outbreak in modern history.” I am a scholar who has studied Yemen and worked as an Arabian […]

Syria

Plot Thickens: Israeli Airstrike blamed for Killing 22 Iraqi Shiite Militiamen in Syria

AFP

Baghdad (AFP) – More than 20 fighters from an Iraqi paramilitary force key to the battle against the Islamic State group were killed in an eastern Syria air raid the United States linked to Israel. The bombing raid hit Al-Hari, a town controlled by regional militias fighting in Syria’s complex seven-year war alongside President Bashar […]

Yemen

Yemen: Saudi-Led Attack on Hodeida Displaces Nearly 5,000, Endangers 70% of Food Imports

Fawaz al-Haidari

Al Duraihmi (Yemen) (AFP) – Yemeni pro-government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, battled Huthi rebels around the key port city of Hodeida on Sunday, as a top UN envoy held crisis talks with the insurgents in the capital. AFP / -Yemeni pro-government forces launch an attack on Huthi rebels in Hodeida province on June 16, […]

Featured

With new pro-Iran Iraq Coalition, Tehran Outmaneuvers Trump-Saudi-Israeli Axis

Juan Cole

Trump allegedly complained to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that after the 2015 nuclear deal, the Iranians “think they can do anything they want.” Presumably Trump was referring to Iran’s geopolitical reach in the Middle East, where it had gathered up allies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It is likely that Trump’s violation of […]

Israel/ Palestine

Agency: A Grassroots Nonviolent Palestinian Movement is Israel’s worst Nightmare

Yaser Alashqar

Donald Trump’s recent policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been unambiguous, to put it mildly. His administration is increasingly aligned with one of the most right-wing governments in Israel’s history. Most radically of all, it reversed a longstanding US policy by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and relocating the US embassy there from […]

Iran

French Auto Maker Renault decides to Stay in Iran, Fight Trump Sanctions

AFP

Paris (AFP) – French carmaker Renault will maintain its presence in Iran while taking measures to avoid the risk of penalties for breaching renewed US sanctions, CEO Carlos Ghosn said Friday. “We will not abandon it, even if we have to downsize very strongly,” he said at the annual shareholders’ meeting in Paris. “When the […]

Saudi Arabia

Retro Saudi Soap Opera set in Imaginary “Unveiled, Liberal” 1970s Infuriates Hardliners

Middle East Monitor

With scenes of unveiled women and mixed-sex musical soirees, a new Saudi Arabian soap opera, set in the 1970s, is evoking nostalgia about the kingdom’s modern past. A period before the rise of religious fundamentalism. But, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s liberalising plans for the country, it is also giving viewers an unintended taste […]

Yemen

Yemen: Will the Battle for Hodeidah Bring a Solution or Disaster?

Brian Whitaker

London ( al-Bab.com) – In Yemen, the long-expected military assault on the port city of Hodeidah began this morning. Hodeida is currently held by the Houthis who control much of northern Yemen. According to local reports it is being attacked from the south by the Amaliqa (“Giants”) Brigades – a surviving section of Yemen’s national […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Lawmaker: Supremacy of ‘Jewish Race’ Explains Support for Netanyahu

Middle East Monitor

A lawmaker from the ruling Likud party said Wednesday that the “Jewish race” is the smartest in the world and possessing of the “highest human capital,” which is why, he said, the Israeli public did not buy into the allegations of wrongdoing by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports The Time Of Israel. Member of the […]