Orientul Mijlociu

Iraq came close to civil war but stepped back from the brink last week. On Aug. 29, street fighting erupted between followers of Iraqi Shi’a cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr and those of the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework (CF), after Sadr announced his “final withdrawal” from politics and the closure of the majority of Sadrist institutions. He also declared that he would no longer dictate actions to his supporters, who interpreted his announcement as a green light to storm Baghdad’s Green Zone, including the presidential palace, the government headquarters, and the parliament. They were met with force by militia members of the CF, resulting in an armed confrontation between the two warring factions, with dozens dead and hundreds injured. Iraqis spent the evening of Aug. 29 thinking the country was descending into an intra-Shi’a civil war.

The Official SANA News Agency reported a new Israeli strike on the Aleppo International Airport Tuesday night.

Unidentified gunmen assassinated Fadi Majed al-Saad, a former member of the Free Syrian Army, according to Baladi News.

On Wednesday, unidentified gunmen assassinated a former member of opposition factions in the western Daraa governorate.

Intelligence Online reported that Hakan Fidan and Ali Mamlouk have met again under Russian auspices, according to al-Modon.

Intelligence Online reported that the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, Hakan Fidan, has held a new meeting with the head of the Syrian regime’s intelligence service, Ali Mamlouk. The meeting occurred under Russia’s auspices.

For the second time in just a week, Israel targeted the Aleppo International Airport last Tuesday. A message to Bashar al-Assad?

For the second time in just a week, Israel targeted the Aleppo International Airport last Tuesday. This second attack comes amid an intensification of Israeli attacks on Iranian targets in Syria. Already on August 31st, Israeli strikes targeted the Damascus countryside only two hours after an attack on the vicinity of Aleppo International Airport, resulting in material damage. The strikes are believed to have targeted Iranian warehouses and supply lines. Recently, Ram Ben-Barak, the chairman of the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign affairs and defence committee, told Israeli media that the strikes had been a signal to al-Assad. “The attack meant that certain planes would not be able to land, and that a message was relayed to Assad: If planes whose purpose is to encourage terrorism land, Syria’s transport capacity will be harmed,” he said, according to al-Jazeera.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday that “without Turkiye, NATO is weak,” Turkish media reported.

As Erdogan spoke to journalists following Friday prayer in Istanbul, he commented on NATO’s removal of a tweet about Turkish Victory Day (marked on 30 August) following a Greek complaint.

Russia has demanded that Iran remove its forces and militias from areas in western Syria in order to avoid further airstrikes from neighbouring Israel, according to a report by Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

Citing a source reportedly close to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, the outlet reported that in a meeting on Wednesday between three Russian officials and their Iranian counterparts at the Hama military airport, Moscow “demanded that the Iranians evacuate” their military positions near Hama and the coastal city of Tartous.

It takes just a few seconds to post a tweet, but for one woman in Saudi Arabia it has resulted in a 45-year prison sentence which has shocked ordinary citizens across the kingdom. Nourah Bint Saeed Al-Qahtani was convicted in the Saudi Specialised Criminal Court on charges of using the internet to violate public order by sending out tweets critical of the regime.

In spite of the opposition from US allies in the Middle East as well as many US Congressman — both Democrats and Republicans — the Biden administration appeared determined to reward the ruling mullahs of Iran whose policies and ideology are anchored in “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.