Orientul Mijlociu

While sanctions continue to hinder the implementation of the gas deal involving Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, a bus bombing in Damascus wounded 15 police officers. Kurds in Syria also fear a military invasion of the country’s Northeast by Turkey in march.

The council announced the kidnapping on Saturday of one of its activists, according to Shaam News.

The Kurdish National Council in Syria condemned acts that contradict all human values and human rights, which fall within the framework of the policy of silencing voices, preventing freedom of political action, and restricting the Kurdish National Council and the activity of its members.

The Turkish intelligence is trying to reopen the M4 highway in a meeting in Idleb with HTS and the Turkish-backed factions. Meanwhile, ISIS has killed several members of the SDF and the Syrian army, and 15 security service members are injured in an attack with an IED. The IDF says the two armed Syrians who approached the Israeli border in the southern Golan Heights the previous day — one of whom was shot dead by troops — were not combatants, and an Alabama woman who ran away from home to join ISIS and had a child with one of its fighters says she still hopes to return to the United States, serve prison time if necessary, and advocate against the extremists.

The U.S. Envoy to NE Syria met with Arab tribal leaders in the governorates of Hassakeh and Raqqa, according to Orient Net.

The recent visit of U.S. State Envoy Nicholas Granger to northeastern Syria, accompanied by intense meetings with political, tribal, and military parties, has strengthened the belief that the US is preparing to develop the region’s administration and increase the presence of Arabs.

Diplomatic sources in Ankara confirmed to Al-Watan that Moscow is trying to arrange a meeting between the Syrian and Turkish foreign ministers.

Russian mediation, alongside Iran, has been active in recent days to bring the views between Damascus and Ankara closer. The mediation’s aim has been to expedite diplomatic talks between the two countries, noting that there is a scheduled date in mid-2023 for security talks, which may be accompanied by a meeting between the two countries’ defence ministers.

What Will Erdogan Do to Stay in Power?

In a year that has brought renewed strength and unity to NATO, perhaps no country has proven more confounding to the alliance than Turkey. For other NATO members, Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought new resolve against a common enemy and paved the way for the alliance’s expansion. Yet Turkey, though it is a NATO member, has not only maintained cordial relations with Russia; it has also threatened to block the NATO candidacies of Sweden and Finland.

Social protest sweeping the country. Economic isolation and a deteriorating security situation in the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran is currently going through one of the most difficult periods in its 44-years old history. Is this the time of the end of clerical rule? Let’s look at the processes that led to the eruption of popular discontent and the current geopolitical environment. What are Iran’s prospects?