Kurdish officials fear Islamic State revival as US aid cuts loom

Humanitarian groups worried north-east Syrian camps holding suspected IS members will lose basic facilities

Kurdish officials have warned of an Islamic State resurgence if US foreign aid cuts take effect on Monday, which would cripple essential services for tens of thousands of people detained in tented camps in north-east Syria, including suspected members of IS and their families.

Operation “Iron Wall” and the policies of permanent crisis

The Israeli “Iron Wall” operation in the northern West Bank comes in light of many local, regional and international developments, as it came two days after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into effect. At this time, the operation raises several questions, including the possibility of expanding its scope to include various areas of the West Bank, especially after it was described by Israeli officials as part of changing the concept of security in the West Bank.

#IR46: How Islamic Revolution ignited global resistance against US imperialism, Zionism

A towering billboard in an upscale Tehran neighborhood announces the 46th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. But what makes this signboard intriguing is its location—standing tall in a district named after none other than South African anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela.

This symbolic naming of the boulevard offers a glimpse into the ideological path the Islamic Republic of Iran under the leadership of Imam Khomeini adopted after 1979.

Cut off one head and three others grow – Hezbollah’s Syrian Hub

New information has arisen about the way in which Hezbollah’s military and criminal operations in Syria is using its terrorist organization’s financial network. The modus operandi of this network brings together three elements of Hezbollah’s activity in Syria: weapon smuggling, drug trafficking operations and financing which make use of the logistic capabilities of Syrian-owned transport companies. Using this network allows Hezbollah to hide their international illicit activity under the guise of a legitimate business activity and supply and fund their operations in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Iran Update, February 8, 2025

Information Cutoff: 2:00pm ET

The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) publish the Iran Update, which provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests.

Click here to see CTP and ISW’s interactive map of Israeli ground operations, and here to see CTP and ISW’s interactive map of the ongoing opposition offensive in Syria. These maps are updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.

Imaginer la Riviera de Gaza et autres folies

Netanyahou remporte une autre victoire face à une Maison-Blanche ignorante.

Le problème est que les personnes qui regardent nerveusement ce que fait le président Donald Trump pour remodeler le Moyen-Orient au profit d’Israël ne regardent pas assez profondément les changements de politique intérieure américaine qui sont également promus et qui priveront les Américains de droits fondamentaux comme la liberté d’expression ou d’association dans toute situation dans laquelle Israël ou des groupes juifs sont impliqués, même de façon marginale. C’est comme si les États-Unis étaient pleinement engagés dans deux tâches majeures simultanément. La première consiste à soutenir Israël sans esprit critique, quoi qu’il fasse et quel que soit le nombre de civils qu’il cherche à tuer, sans nécessairement approuver ouvertement toutes les politiques embrassées par le monstrueux Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahou et ses collègues égorgeurs. C’est ainsi que le président Joe Biden a géré les choses, aidé par son secrétaire d’État sioniste Antony Blinken. Biden a feint de s’inquiéter des dizaines, voire des centaines de milliers de Palestiniens tués par Israël, mais il a maintenu le flux de bombes américaines, l’argent et le soutien politique total, même lorsqu’il a faiblement mis en garde, puis n’a pas donné suite à une menace selon laquelle il y aurait des conséquences si Israël continuait à imposer un blocus et à affamer les habitants de la bande de Gaza.

What Syrians Can Learn From Libya’s Revolution

Two fateful missteps after the fall of dictator Muammar Qadhafi offer important lessons on the impact of early policy choices.

Jubilant crowds tearing down statues and posters of a hated despot. Feared prisons emptying out their longtime occupants. City squares hosting raucous rallies and solemn Friday prayers, free from the prying gazes of the security services.

Migration: A New Pact Doomed to Fail from the Start

Just over 220,000 migrants were detected trying to cross into Europe illegally in the first 11 months of 2024, according to Frontex data. That represents a decrease of about 40 per cent from 2023, and is several orders of size smaller than the numbers seen in 2015, when around 1 million Syrians made their way to Europe to escape the civil war back home. However, the perilous Western African route saw a record 46,843 people reach the Canary Islands illegally in 2024, up 19 per cent from 2023.

Exclusive: Washington using Nile dam dispute to pressure Egypt into accepting Gaza expulsion plan

A senior Trump administration official met Egyptian leaders in Cairo last week to discuss a plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza.

The United States has reportedly used Egypt’s water security crisis as leverage to pressure Cairo into accepting the plan of forcibly relocation of Gaza’s Palestinians, according to The New Arab’s Arabic language edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.