Türkiye and Iran Battle for Influence in the South Caucasus
Bottom Line Up Front
Iranian leaders fear that Türkiye, emboldened by the ousting of the Assad regime in Syria, will further advance its influence in the South Caucasus at the expense of Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister visited Tehran’s key South Caucasus ally, Armenia, last week to coordinate efforts to thwart the establishment of a Turkish-backed transit corridor that would block Iran’s land access to Armenia.
Syria Exploits Great Power Competition in Drive for Stability and Security
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is calibrating relations with both Washington and Moscow to ensure they both contribute to the country’s stability and security.
Sharaa’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week sought, in part, to prod Trump officials to pressure Israel to end its assaults on Syrian territory and Syrian strategic assets.
Von der Leyen hints at ‘trade bazooka’ against China’s rare earth chokehold
“Europe cannot do things the same way anymore. We learned this lesson painfully with energy; we will not repeat it with critical materials”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that Brussels is ready to use all available means to counter Beijing’s damaging export restrictions on rare earths.
Profiles of anti-Hamas militias in the Gaza Strip
To weaken Hamas’s grip on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government initiated a campaign to arm rival groups within the enclave, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged in June. The first of these groups, the Popular Forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab, surfaced in May as a direct challenge to Hamas’s authority. Backed by Israeli funding and logistical support, additional anti-Hamas militias soon emerged, seeking to erode Hamas’s control from within. These groups, particularly the Popular Forces, have complicated Hamas’s internal governance and drawn retaliatory attacks.
Muslim Migrants Fuelling the Rise in Anti-Semitic Attacks
Elon Musk’s blunt warning that “violence is coming” to the UK because of its failed immigration policy dating back decades has turned out to be chillingly prophetic. Within just weeks of the tech entrepreneur issuing his dire warning, two Jewish worshippers were killed and three others wounded in a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester, carried out by a Muslim jihadi.
What trials and punishments await Hamas’s Nukhba terrorists in Israeli prisons? – analysis
The question of what should happen to the terrorists who committed the October 7 massacre remains at large. Now, after the release of the final living hostages, it will finally begin to be answered.
In southern Gaza, new anti-Hamas enclave emerges under militia claiming Israeli backing
Working in apparent coordination with Abu Shabab, which also claims arms and other support from Israel, Hossam al-Astal says hundreds flocking to his base for food, power and escape from Hamas
In a village south of Khan Younis, emptied by months of fighting, a 50-year-old former Palestinian Authority officer is carving out what appears to be the latest attempt to pare back Hamas’s power in the Strip, establishing a small, armed enclave that promises an alternative to the terror group with the quiet support of Israel and the West.
Champion of the people or a traitor? A new force emerges in southern Gaza
The photo shows a lean, tanned man in a dark helmet. He’s grasping a rifle and UN vehicles move behind him as he waves through traffic.
The man is Yasser Abu Shabab, who says he commands hundreds of armed men known as the Popular Forces to offer protection to international organizations working in southern Gaza.
Sovereignty in All but Name: Israel’s Quickening Annexation of the West Bank
What’s new? Israel’s far-right government is restructuring the occupation of the West Bank, shifting governing powers from military to civilian agencies in order to gradually institute permanent control. With Israeli law reaching further into the territory and space for Palestinian independence shrinking, much of the territory has, in effect, already been annexed.