Orientul Mijlociu

Kataib Hezbollah are calling for more attacks on Saudi Arabia amid wrangling over who should protect the country’s borders.

As Iran warns of a possible cross-border ground operation into Iraqi Kurdistan, an armed faction operating within Iraq has called for Iran-linked armed groups across the region to take the fight to the Saudi capital.

The deal comes at a notable time in Iran-Iraq relations, as the Islamic Republic continues to threaten and attack Kurdish groups in Iraq.

Iran and Iraq signed an export agreement today. 

In this weekly newsletter, Pentagon Correspondent Jared Szuba rounds up the biggest security stories from the region.

The Pentagon is taking a stand against Turkey’s plans to launch another assault against the Kurdish militias that form the bulk of the US-backed force fighting the Islamic State in Syria.

As the Turkish-backed opposition factions prepare for an imminent Turkish ground operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, questions arise about the potential participation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the battle.

As actors involved have notably toned down their objections to Turkey’s potential ground offensive in northern Syria, the ball seems to be in Russia’s court, but how can Ankara convince Moscow to give it a green light?

On Oct. 31, local units previously affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) launched a large-scale military operation against the al-Hafo-Harfoush group in the southern Syrian city of Daraa al-Balad. The units responsible for carrying out the operation in the Tariq al-Sad and al-Mukhayyam neighborhoods had chosen to remain in the governorate after signing reconciliation agreements with the Syrian regime under Russian auspices in July 2018.

In a move that reflects both the increasing ties between Moscow and Tehran and the difficulties both countries have in shipping via the Caucasus land bridge given instability and political changes there, the two governments have announced plans to open trade on the Caspian Sea between Astrakhan in Russia and Bender-Enzeli in Iran. 

The United States was able to quickly confirm the death of the Islamic State’s leader in southern Syria this past October because it had his DNA and other biometric data on file from an encounter with him from long before he took the helm of the terror group.

U.S. officials are still refusing to share the true identity of the man known to most of the world only by his nom-de-guerre, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.

The ceasefire between the Government of the Republic of Yemen and Houthi opposition forces formally expired in early October and continues to deteriorate.

In November, the Houthis attacked government-controlled energy infrastructure targets, but they have thus far stopped short of resuming strikes on targets inside neighboring Saudi Arabia.