News on politics, security and defence in the Middle East and North Africa
By James M. Dorsey A week into a rebel offensive, Syria is the potential fulcrum of a tectonic reordering of Middle Eastern geopolitics with President Bashar al-Assad as a key…
By James M. Dorsey The stakes in Syria couldn’t be higher. Despite initial rapid rebel advances, what is likely to be a protracted and bloody battle could rewrite the Middle…
By James M. Dorsey Gulf leaders told Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati what they said to Palestinians when he asked the region’s wealthy energy exporters to fund the reconstruction of…
By James M. Dorsey Major General Avi Bluth, the head of Israel’s Central Command, switched roles this weekend. Suddenly, Mr. Bluth, in occupied Hebron to protect Israeli worshippers and settlers…
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s world just shrunk considerably. An International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza obliges the Court’s…
By James M. Dorsey Hamas political bureau member Mousa Abu Marzouk knows a thing or two about Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decades-long support for the group. In fact, Mr.…
By James M. Dorsey Appalled by Israel’s carpet bombing of Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon war, US President Ronald Reagan didn’t mince his words with then-Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin.…
By James M. Dorsey Gaza is gearing up to be a war on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s watch that he doesn’t want but may be unable to end. To read…
By James M. Dorsey Iran is signaling its willingness to negotiate a nuclear deal with Donald J. Trump as the president-elect assembles an administration populated by Iran hawks who favour…
From October 22 to 24, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, as host of the 2024 BRICS summit, welcomed 36 world leaders to Russia . This conference marked the first gathering of the BRICS…