Orientul Mijlociu

The trial of Adnan Ćatić for allegedly organizing a terrorist group and engaging in foreign battlefield activities commenced following the reading of the indictment and the opening statement by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concurrently, on Wednesday, 6 February, Syrian opposition activist and researcher Sheikh Jumaa Lehib received a deportation order from Lebanon to Syria amidst an intensified crackdown on Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The Iranian regime, which… has been calling for “Death to America,” now has ballistic missiles which it says can reach the US, and claims to have a hypersonic missile that, according to one report, “Can Destroy US In 40 sec.”

Venezuela appears to have willingly embraced Iran’s overtures.

Latest Developments

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed on March 18 that Israeli forces killed Marwan Issa, deputy chief of Hamas military operations, in an airstrike last week. Issa, 59, constitutes one of the most senior Hamas figures killed during the more than five-month-old war in Gaza. Issa, also known as Abu al-Baraa, has acted as a liaison between Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian terrorist group’s top leader in Gaza. Issa was also among the architects of the October 7 cross-border rampage by Hamas that triggered the Gaza war. The State Department added Issa to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists in 2019.

Executive Summary

The United States is losing the war against an enemy it has misunderstood for decades. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS), and the Salafi-jihadi groups that threaten the United States are stronger, smarter, and more resilient than they were on September 11, 2001. Americans have confused tactical successes on the battlefield against ISIS and al Qaeda with progress in this war.

Iran has a well-documented history of allegations regarding the use of child soldiers, a practice
dating back to the Iran-Iraq War in 1980 and persisting thereafter. According to the International
Committee of the Red Cross, a significant portion, approximately 10%, of Iranian prisoners in Iraq
were minors.1 During the Iran-Iraq conflict, children as young as nine were coerced into assisting
in mine-clearing efforts, frequently restrained together by ropes to prevent escape.

The Iranian presence in Syria has always been a source of concern at a regional level, for Arab countries on the one hand, and for Israel on the other. If the partial Arab severance of relations with al-Assad has pushed the issue of Iranian presence off the negotiation table, this does not reflect a resignation to Tehran’s influence in Damascus, contrary to the vision presented by the Syrian regime president, Bashar al-Assad, in March 2023 (before returning to the Arab League).

At the end of 2023, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the political umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that controls northeastern Syria, came out with an updated “social contract” to replace an old one that had faced criticism at home and abroad.

In many ways, Qatar is completely misunderstood. No wonder – Qatar plays in the playgrounds of the empires, while in itself it is hardly more than a gas-providing emirate. Qatar hosts world sports events like F1, football world cup and intends to hosts the Olympic games, yet has less sports pedigree than any other host ever before. Qatar has more foreign relations in the West than in Arab countries, invests more money in “the free world” than in regional endeavors. Qatar invests heavily in Salafist terror organizations, yet is the main “negotiator” to “solve problems” arising from the activities of these very organizations. Naturally, Western countries like to believe that Qatari willingness to help shows promise. Neighboring Arab countries, on the other hand, have long exposed the deeper needs of Qatar and even banned them for years because of their involvement in terror activities.

A lot of well-intentioned folks look to influential members of the Alt-Media Community for guidance in understanding the complex processes associated with the global systemic transition, but these leading figures tend to exaggerate developments for clout, to push an ideology, and/or to solicit donations.

Hezbollah maintains capability to target Americans and American interests in the region, worldwide, “and, to a lesser extent, in the United States,” according to assessment

Lebanon’s Hezbollah is likely to consider different responses to Israel’s “actions” in Lebanon during the rest of the year, according to a US intelligence report released on Monday.