Middle East

9 Killed: Syrian Forces and Kurdish Fighters Clash in Aleppo
9 Killed: Syrian Forces and Kurdish Fighters Clash in Aleppo

Clashes between government personnel and Kurdish-led forces in the north Syrian city of Aleppo killed nine people on Tuesday, with both sides trading blame over who started the fighting. State news agency SANA blames the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for “the death of one defense ministry member,” while state television ...

Yemen Separatists Set for Riyadh Talks After Fighting: Official
Yemen Separatists Set for Riyadh Talks After Fighting: Official

The leader of Yemen's separatists is heading to Riyadh on Tuesday for talks, a Yemeni official told AFP, after days of fighting between his UAE-backed forces and pro-Saudi rivals. The Saudi-organised talks indicate the beginning of de-escalation efforts after the clashes in Yemen's government-run areas that exposed a rift between Gulf powers ...

Israel Prepares for Possible Iranian “Mistake”
Israel Prepares for Possible Iranian “Mistake”

Israel’s security establishment is preparing for the possibility of a multi-front confrontation, operating on the assumption that any Iranian misstep would trigger a severe military response, carried out with U.S. approval, according to a report by the Israeli daily Maariv. In Tel Aviv, the prevailing question is no longer whether such an ...

Iran Protests: 35 Dead, Over 1,200 Arrested
Iran Protests: 35 Dead, Over 1,200 Arrested

About 35 people have been killed since the start of the protests against the regime in Iran, including four children, and law enforcement authorities in the country have arrested more than 1,200 protesters, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. The protests in the country are showing no signs of stopping, and they have spread to ...

Trump, Maduro, and Iran
Op-edTrump, Maduro, and Iran

America's dramatic capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has set the stage for the conduct of America's national security strategy in 2026.  It has also raised questions. Was it legal?  Judging from precedents set with the 1990 capture, trial, conviction, and imprisonment of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, the ...

Syria Confirms U.S.-Mediated Talks With Israel
Syria Confirms U.S.-Mediated Talks With Israel

Syria has confirmed that it is participating in a new round of negotiations with Israel, coordinated and mediated by the United States, according to a Syrian government source. The source said the Syrian delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and General Intelligence chief Hussein al-Salama and is taking part in the ...

Lebanon Could Face ‘Indirect but Serious’ Fallout from Venezuela, Warns Senior Official
Lebanon Could Face ‘Indirect but Serious’ Fallout from Venezuela, Warns Senior Official

A senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the fallout from Venezuela could have “indirect but serious consequences” for Lebanon, particularly if pressure on Iran intensifies, according to Nidaa Al-Watan.  “The collapse or weakening of this axis does not stop at one country,” the official stated. “If Iran is ...

Lebanon Must Become Independent of Saudi Arabia Too
Op-edLebanon Must Become Independent of Saudi Arabia Too

If Lebanon’s Shia are to finally divorce Iran and reclaim patriotism for their nation, other sects must also place Lebanon’s national interests above the diktats of foreign patrons. That means the Sunnis, the Christian Lebanese Forces, and Walid Jumblatt’s Druze political bloc must end their humiliating dependence on Saudi Arabia. For too ...

KSA-Backed Forces Reclaim Eastern Yemen as Rift with UAE-Allied STC Deepens
KSA-Backed Forces Reclaim Eastern Yemen as Rift with UAE-Allied STC Deepens

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have regained control of the eastern governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra from the United Arab Emirates–supported Southern Transitional Council (STC), marking a major shift in the balance of power as tensions among Gulf allies intensify. Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership ...

Khamenei Has a Plan to Flee Iran if Unrest Escalates
Khamenei Has a Plan to Flee Iran if Unrest Escalates

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prepared a contingency plan to leave the country if security forces fail to contain protests or begin to defect, according to an intelligence report shared with The Times. The report says Khamenei, 86, would leave Tehran with a close circle of up to 20 aides and family members if he ...

Syria Says Talks on Military Integration of Kurds Inconclusive
Syria Says Talks on Military Integration of Kurds Inconclusive

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi held talks with officials in Damascus on Sunday on integrating his forces into the central government, but state media said no tangible results were achieved. Abdi signed a deal in March with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to merge the civil and military institutions of the Kurds' semi-autonomous ...