Orientul Mijlociu

Turkey’s President Recep Tayip Erdogan offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. The senior Ria Novosti commentator Petr Akopov poured water on the idea. Ukraine has become a Western puppet and since Turkey is still a NATO member, Ankara cannot be regarded as an even-handed mediator. In words ominous for Ukraine, Akopov emphasized that Ukraine’s independence is accidental and Kiev is part of the “Russian world”. Ukraine’s existence is ephemeral, and does not resemble Turkey and Russia’s long-lasting proximity to each other. Turkey has no business projecting itself into the dispute between Russia and Ukraine in the same way that Russia would never think of injecting itself into the Kurdish question.

Armed group ISIL still poses a threat in several provinces in Iraq with hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and roadside bombs.

Five Peshmerga fighters were killed in an attack by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in northern Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Sunday.

The attack – which also wounded four Peshmerga – took place in Diyala province on Saturday night.

Also, Al-Monitor’s on-the-ground reporting on the security situations in Syria and Iraq, including the impact of the Turkish lira crisis on Idlib.

Islamic State ‘entrenched as low-level insurgency’

The most recent report from the Pentagon’s Inspector General on Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led diplomatic and military operation against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, indicates that IS has weakened but remains a priority for US national security interests in the region.

The Kurdistan Region’s peshmerga forces suffer another attacked by Islamic State fighters.

The Islamic State (IS) attacked Kurdistan Region security forces in northern Iraq again today.

The assault occurred north of Kifri in the Diyala province. There were casualties among the Kurdistan Region’s peshmerga forces, the Erbil-based news outlet Kurdistan 24 reported.

Only the United States can play a significant role in a democratic solution to the Kurdish question, Mazloum Kobane, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said.

Noting that the Kurdish question in Turkey impacts Syria, Kobane told the National Interest that the problems of all Kurds are “interconnected and tied to each other.’’

Damascus, SANA-Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, Manhal Aziz al-Khabbaz affirmed the importance of sharing experiences between Iraq and Syria and benefiting from the advanced Syrian experience in the field of industrial cities and zones.

The Iraqi Minister’s remarks came during a press statement following his arrival in Damascus on Saturday, heading a delegation of businessmen, industrialists, and officials of the industrial cities to participate in the fourth conference of the Arab Union of Cities and Industrial Zones.

The Military Council of SDF has held a meeting with tribes’ dignitaries from al-Hasakah province, in al-Ivan Hall, south of Darbasiyah, to deal with the demands of the people and to consult with tribes’ dignitaries on the release of 850 detainees, arrested by SDF.

Deir Ezzor province: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have monitored new details about the “settlements and reconciliations” deals initiated by the security system, in the presence of branch commanders and high-level intelligence officers, in the city of Deir Ezzor and in the squares in the eastern countryside, a few days ag.

Turkey is facing a severe economic crisis these days, with a 15% devaluation of the Lira against the US dollar in just 24 hours. This has caused dissatisfaction among Turkish citizens since they have lost their purchasing power accordingly, and many of them marched in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara, demanding the resignation of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

But some of the Iranian media affiliated with the government welcomed this news very much and published it widely. The question is, why is the Iranian regime happy and welcoming the devaluation of the Turkish lira, and how does it benefit from it?