Asharq Al-Awsat

Meet the 13 Palestinians Tasked With Governing Gaza After Hamas

Gaza peace plan sees slow progress after Hamas meets in Cairo

The US-backed peace plan for Gaza has continued to progress slowly, though ceasefire talks held in Cairo in the first week and a half of June appeared to stall over the issue of Hamas’s disarmament,...

Iraq’s prime minister prepares US visit amid Iran threats and militia focus

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi is preparing for an upcoming trip to Washington, DC, Iraqi media outlets recently reported. The prime minister has been working since his May appointment...

Several Iranian-backed militias in Iraq say they accept state control of weapons

On June 3 in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi met with delegations from Asaib Ahl al Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, two Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. He thanked the group’s leadership for supporting...

Iran conducts new attacks on Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq

Iran carried out a new attack on a Kurdish Iranian opposition group in northern Iraq on the evening of May 25, one of several over the past weeks that Kurdish groups have blamed on Iran. Despite...

Hamas replaces military wing leader, IDF reports 19 Gaza ceasefire violations May 6–20

Hamas has reportedly selected longstanding member Mohammed Odeh to lead the group’s so-called military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades. The news was first reported by Saudi newspaper Asharq...

Syria Can Squeeze Hezbollah, But Caution Is Necessary

Syrian forces may be returning to Lebanon more than twenty years after Damascus withdrew its military from its smaller neighbor’s territory. Reuters reported on March 17 that the...

Iraqi militias divided on disarming and accepting government control

The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah has said it will not disarm in the wake of reports that suggest armed militias in Iraq will place their weapons under state control. “The Iraqi group...

Iraq votes in parliamentary elections amid US security talks and concerns about Iranian influence

Iraqis voted in a parliamentary election on November 11, the country’s sixth since the toppling of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003. The election, held as security forces were deployed...

Israel strikes IRGC in Lebanon, reports Qods Force arrests in Syria

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eliminated Wissam Saeed Jubai on September 11 in Ain Baal, a village in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon. The IDF’s Persian-language account described Jubai...

As Lebanese Cabinet Meeting on Disarmament Ends Without Clear Commitments, Hezbollah Praises its ‘Wisdom and Reason’

Government Disarmament Plan is an “Opportunity”: A senior Hezbollah official has responded positively to the Lebanese cabinet’s meeting to discuss a Lebanese Armed Forces...

Tensions grow between Damascus and eastern Syria amid continuing efforts to integrate factions

On September 2, the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Damascus intercepted an arms shipment destined for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-supported military force...

The Houthis Are Breaking into the Drug Trade

The captagon trade has spread from Syria to Yemen, bankrolling Houthi terrorism. Washington should pay attention.

Iraqi military bases targeted in overnight strikes

As Israel and Iran exchanged final volleys of fire in the early hours of June 24 after US President Donald Trump brokered a still-uncertain ceasefire, unknown actors, strongly thought to be Iran-backed...

Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias Step Up Attacks on U.S. Military Presence in Middle East

Iraqi Militias Attack U.S. Bases in Syria: Three U.S. bases in northeastern Hasakah province came under attack by Iran-backed Iraqi militias between June 14-15, the pan-Arab newspaper...

Iran-backed militias attack 3 US bases in Syria

Iran-backed Iraqi militias launched missile attacks against three US bases in northeastern Syria last weekend, according to a report from the region. A US defense official did not deny that the missile...

Israel launches ground operation to arrest alleged Hamas militants in Syria

On June 12, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that “troops of the 3rd Brigade, under the command of the 210th Division, completed an operation to apprehend Hamas terrorists...

Lebanon Is Conceding to Hezbollah’s Post-War Reconstruction Demands

Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm, and now, Lebanon is conceding its best — if not only — leverage. On June 3, Lebanese television station Al Jadeedrevealed that President Joseph Aoun appointed...

Houthis begin rebuilding after airstrikes, rely on extortion to finance projects

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorist regime in northern Yemen is undertaking an expensive rebuilding effort following seven weeks of US airstrikes during Operation Rough Rider and recent strikes...

New Sanctions Against the Houthis Take Aim at the Terrorist Group’s Banking Sector 

The Trump administration is following through on the promise of a whole-of-government approach to stopping Houthi terrorism. While U.S. Central Command forces have been continuously striking the group...