Author: M Barbu

This move may be the first sign of “opening relations” between Turkey and the regime, according to al-Souria Net.

The military factions controlling northern Syria, whether in Idleb or rural Aleppo, are preparing to open crossings with Assad-controlled areas. This move may be the first sign of “opening relations” between Turkey, which oversees the north and the regime, according to the pro-regime newspaper Al-Watan.
The first of which was the opening of the National Army crossing, Abu al-Zandin, in the vicinity of the city of al-Bab east of Aleppo. It opened for only two hours, and two trucks entered before it was closed again.
Hours later, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) survey and engineering teams began equipping the Tarnaba crossing between the outskirts of the town of Sarmin and Saraqeb, which is under the control of Assad’s forces.

Russia is pushing Turkey in the direction of normalization with the Syrian government, according to Athr Press.

Several members of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) have leaked documents in which Turkey warns SOC not to waste time in any talks between the opposition and the Syrian government. The documents note that Turkish-Syrian talks were one of Russia’s conditions for Turkey to play the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine. These developments coincide with talk of obstacles and stumbling blocks in Turkish-Syrian political talks, as well as several reports spreading that Ankara plans to close SOC’s offices and withdraw financial support from it.

Yemen’s six-month truce is up for renewal on 2 October. The UN and external powers should redouble their efforts to forge agreement on an expanded deal. If those look set to fall short, however, they should propose interim arrangements that avert a return to major combat.

The United States said Thursday that one of its citizens was killed in Iranian strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan as it separately announced fresh enforcement of sanctions on Tehran’s oil sales.

Iran’s clerical state on Thursday carried out cross-border strikes, with 13 reported dead, amid unrest at home sparked by the death in custody of an Iranian Kurdish woman by the notorious morality police.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi calls recent protests “sedition,” and police arrest a former president’s daughter.

At a cabinet meeting today, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed “enemy” countries for provoking protests.