The Muslim Brotherhood and sources close to the Turkish government are arguing that Saudi Arabia could find a face-saving exit from the Yemen conflict it has been looking for by cooperating with Turkey.
In part as a result of the Biden administration’s shifting policies toward Iran and Washington’s decision to temporarily freeze and review weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over the Yemeni war, Ankara is aiming to turn Saudi Arabia’s growing international isolation to Turkey’s advantage.
Syria’s economic collapse is stoking the struggle over commercial routes between government-held areas and US- and Turkish-backed enclaves, fueling also disagreements on humanitarian aid.
Tensions in Syria are increasingly marked by a struggle for the control of economic routes, as the country’s economic crisis is exacerbated amid shortages of even basic goods such as bread, fuel queues stretching for kilometers, and mounting calls for the reopening of border crossings to facilitate humanitarian aid.
Focusing on economic cooperation, migration and human rights, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel sought to improve EU-Turkey ties during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on April 6.
In a rare visit to Ankara on April 6, top European officials sought to improve troubled EU-Turkey relations through a positive but conditional agenda in a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
For the past 18 months, Lebanon has been reeling from a wrenching economic crisis. This essay deciphers the crisis’s origin, describes the current juncture, and reflects on the likely outcomes in the proximate future.
How did we get here?
With hindsight, Lebanon’s economic crisis was predictable. By the time the crisis erupted in October 2019, the economy was facing four extraordinary challenges. First, public sector debt had reached such elevated levels that a default had become a question of when, not if. Second, the banking sector, having lent three-quarters of deposits to the government, had become functionally bankrupt and increasingly illiquid. Third, the productive economy had experienced virtually no growth for an entire decade — a development with acute socio-political implications. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the country was politically rudderless: there was no president between 2014 and 2016, there were multiple and lengthy delays in cabinet formation, and the 2018 parliamentary elections took place but only after a five-year delay. The Hariri government that was in place when the crisis hit in 2019 became impotent to such an extent that it lacked power to deliver on any of the reforms required as a condition for foreign support.
“The Biden administration appears to be using loopholes when dealing with the Iranian regime. I am again asking direct, yes or no questions on the United States’ involvement in facilitating a South Korean ransom payment to Iran. If the Biden administration is involved in transferring funds to Iran, Congress and the American people must be informed. Biden administration officials continue to deflect and refuse to answer questions from members of Congress regarding this issue.” — Congressman Bryan Steil (R-WI), letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, March 25, 2021.
Israel and Iran are engaged in an undeclared, low-level war involving attacks on ships, facilities and proxy groups Israeli leaders might be seeking to derail efforts by the Biden administration to rejoin the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal.
The conflict could escalate as Iran continues to expand its nuclear activities in violation of the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear agreement the US left. The U.S. and other powers could potentially be drawn into the conflict as their commercial and national security interests become affected.
According to a leaked draft of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, circulated last year, Iran will receive $400 billion dollars in Chinese investments over the next 25 years in key Iranian economic sectors, including energy, telecommunications, defense, infrastructure, banking, petrochemicals, railways and ports. According to the leaked draft, there will be also an expansion of military assistance, training and intelligence-sharing. Nearly 100 projects are cited in the draft. In return, Iran will commit to providing regular and heavily discounted oil, gas and possibly other natural resources to China.
The latest evidence that Iran is continuing to conceal vital elements of its nuclear programme from the outside world suggest that, even if there is a resumption of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme, the regime has little genuine interest in complying with the terms of any future deal.
In another provocative move, Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament has ordered the government to start limiting some inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN-sponsored body responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities.
The annual US government report described “significant human rights issues” in Turkey.
The Turkish government described the Joe Biden administration’s newly released report on human rights abuses around the world as “biased” against Ankara, the latest in the ongoing tit for tat between the two countries.
Blinken called on the UN Security Council to reauthorize a cross-border aid operation into Syria despite Russian and Chinese opposition.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday demanded aid workers be granted unhindered access to war-torn Syria, calling on the UN Security Council to scale up humanitarian assistance provided to a population whose lives depend on it.
