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Archives: Middle East

Has Trump deferred to Russia in Syria?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Elizabeth Palmer reported from Ankara last Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had difficult and inconclusive discussions with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan…

ISIL Threatens To Conquer Iran, issuing Rare Video In Persian

Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | - - The militant group Islamic State (IS) has vowed in a rare video message in Persian that includes the apparent beheading of four captured soldiers…

Iran is Back: With Int’l Sanctions lifted and Putin Friendly, Tehran is on a Roll

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iranian petroleum sales to its top four Asian customers rose nearly 60% year on year in March, and total exports have reached nearly…

Israel knicks 25 Acres Of Palestinian Lands In Salfit for Colonial Purposes

IMEMC | - - The Israeli government is planning to illegally confiscate 25 acres of Palestinian lands, in Salfit district, in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank, to build a…

Mosul: ISIL Deploys Ideological Booby Trap As It Retreats

David Patrikarakos | ( RFE/RL ) | - - The coalition battling to take the Iraqi city of Mosul from the extremist [so-called] "Islamic State" group (IS) is closing in. Earlier this…

Iraqis Weigh in on Airstrike That Killed Hundreds In Mosul

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - There is plenty of speculation about how hundreds of non-combatants were killed in Mosul, all apparently by accident. US and Iraqi forces have…

Palestinians condemn Israel’s new illegal squatting in West Bank

Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Palestinian leaders on Thursday and Friday strongly condemned an Israeli security cabinet vote on Thursday night that unanimously approved the establishment of a…

Putin and the Ayatollahs: How Russia’s Alliance with Iran is reshaping the Middle East

By Clément Therme | (The Conversation) | - - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, will meet for the eighth time in four years from March 27 to…

In Shadow of Mideast Wars, Massive Spike in Hunger and Malnutrition

By IPS World Desk | (Inter Press Service) | - - Food security and nutrition levels in the Near East and North Africa have sharply deteriorated over the last five years, undermining…

Why are young Jewish Activists Protesting the Major Israel Lobby?

AJ+ | (Video News Clip) | - - "Here's why these Jewish activists are protesting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in DC. " AJ+: "Jewish Activists Are Protesting AIPAC"

Mosul: As US admits some Responsibility for Civilian deaths, Iraqi PM lashes out at Critics

Mosul: “Some” US Responsibility for Civilian deaths; but Iraqi PM lashes out at Critics

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - As US commanders begin confessing that it is likely that the US military bears responsibility for last Thursday's errant airstrike that killed as…

The Arab Spring and the Western Winter

Ishac Diwan | (Project Syndicate) | - - BEIRUT – There are many striking parallels between the “Arab Spring” that began in 2010 and the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum, the election of…

Poll: Majority of Jewish Israelis oppose ending 50-year military occupation

Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- A new poll was released by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs on Tuesday, revealing that the majority of Israelis oppose any Israeli…

As 100,000 Rally in Yemen, Houthis Defy Trump, Saudis

TeleSur | - - According to Yemen’s Legal Center of Rights and Development, the conflict has thus far killed over 12,040 Yemenis and left more than 20,000 others wounded. The leader of…

Would removing illegal Israel Squatters from Palestine really be “Ethnic Cleansing?”

By Dina Matar | Al-Shabaka | via Ma'an News Agency | - - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently claimed in a video posted on his Facebook page that the Palestinian demand…

Mosul: ISIL Scorched Earth Tactics put Civilians in Crossfire

Special Correspondent* | Niqash.org | Baghdad | - - Mosul Locals Explain Extremists’ Desperate Tactics Mosul locals, some of whom have escaped the extremists and some who are still under their control,…

Progressive Young Jews Protest AIPAC, Occupation of Palestine

TeleSur | - - Protesters gathered under the banner, “Jews won’t be free until Palestinians are, reject AIPAC, reject occupation.” Jewish protesters marched Sunday outside the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference…

Video of Day: Kitten tempted by Iran New Year Goldfish

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | (Video Clip) | - - March 21 was the Persian New Year (Now Ruz), marking also the first day of spring (the vernal equinox). In…

After Trump Massacres in Mosul, Campaign against ISIL Halted

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Candidate Donald Trump called last year for carpet-bombing of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. It is possible that Trump has loosened…

In Erdogan’s Turkey, an Artist is Jailed for Painting Reality

TeleSur | - - A Turkish court has handed down a two-year, nine-month and 22-day jail sentence to a Kurdish artist because of her painting of a Kurdish village being razed by…