Orientul Mijlociu

Russia is forming an alliance of pariah states in the Middle East. It might put Israel in an awkward situation in Syria.

Every visit by a foreign leader to Iran draws considerable attention, not to mention criticism, in Israel. A visit, however, by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the leader of a global power working to establish an anti-American axis, is cause for greater concern. While bilateral cooperation between Russia and Iran is not unprecedented, Israel has hoped such relations would remain limited in scope due to the engrained competition between the two for influence in Syria and Moscow’s fear of getting too close to a “regional pariah.” As recently as 2018, some Israeli experts and policymakers even hoped that Russia would “squeeze Iran out of Syria” for Israel’s benefit.

After the killing of al-Zawahri, here is the FBI’s list of most wanted extremists

Until Sunday, al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahri was one of the world’s most wanted men.

As the number one extremist on the FBI’s most wanted list, al-Zawahri and his deceased co-conspirator Osama Bin Laden were the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Centre in New York. Al-Zawahri was considered one of the leaders of terrorism that led the planning and execution of heinous terrorist operations in the US, Saudi Arabia and several other countries across the world.

7th Summit of the Astana Peace Process in Tehran: Implications for the Syrian Crisis

Three days after US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East, Tehran hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 19. This tripartite meeting was held within the framework of the seventh summit of the heads of states of the Astana Peace Process for Syria. The three parties announced that the next meeting will be held in Russia before the end of 2022. But what were the motivations of Turkey, Russia and Iran in attending the summit? And what are the summit’s consequences on the Syrian crisis?

Turkish consulate in Mosul targeted in rocket attack

The Turkish consulate in Mosul was attacked in a rocket attack, causing damage but no casualties, Iraqi and Turkish sources said.

The overnight fire in Iraq’s main northern city came after deadly shelling, conducted by the Turkish army, killed nine civilians last week, prompting anti-Turkish protests in cities across Iraq.

Turkey: Torture Has Reached “Unprecedented Levels”

“We saw his body while washing it. There was a scar on his neck as if he had been hanged with a clothesline. Both of his eyes had burst. Blood was coming from his eyes. His nose was completely broken and filled with cotton. There was such a large swelling and bruise on his chest it looked as if a tree had been stuck there. His upper lip was almost as big as a palm. His right foot was stitched.” — Hikmet Yılmaz, elder brother of Ferhan Yılmaz, evidently tortured to death in Silivri prison on April 10, 2022.

Arabs: ‘US President Decided to Tamper with [Middle East] Security for No Reason…’

Arabs point out that one of Biden’s biggest mistakes was that he took America’s Arab allies for granted while embarking on a policy of appeasement towards Iran’s mullahs.

“The behavior of the Obama and Biden administrations regarding Iran and Afghanistan served as a wake-up call for the countries of the region.” — Ali Hamadeh, Lebanese Journalist, Annahar, July 20, 2022.