Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, has set conditions for placing its arms under the control of the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi has sought to...
Turkey has emerged as one of the leading patrons of Syria’s new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, following the December 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Ankara had built ties with...
Israel conducted airstrikes on the Abu al Duhur military airport in northern Syria during the evening of August 17–18. Syria condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty,...
There is an easy way to read Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to host Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi in Ankara on July 28, and to call the visit “historic”: as an energy...
Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa met with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi in Damascus on April 16. The meeting came two and a half months after an agreement between...
President Donald Trump is right to demand that NATO allies shoulder more of the burden for collective defense. For too long, the United States has underwritten the security of partners who...
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan did not mince words as he toured the Middle East as the war in the region escalated: “It should be especially noted that the primary responsible party...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reluctant to get involved in the Iran War, fearing it would hurt his party’s chances in the next election.
Iran and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq increased attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq on March 6 and 7. “Drone and missile attacks targeting sites in the Kurdistan Region’s...
As joint U.S.–Israeli operations have degraded the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities, the conflict is entering its next phase. Washington and Jerusalem are reportedly considering backing armed...
Turkey views Iran’s sizable Kurdish population as a potential threat to Turkey’s internal unity.
Masoud Barzani’s February 6 meeting with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi spotlights a decade of U.S. partnering that helped defeat ISIS in eastern Syria, but never produced a political endgame. After holding territory east of the Euphrates, the SDF suffered setbacks in mid-January clashes and then reached a January 30 understanding that allows Damascus to expand security control in remaining SDF areas. Some fighters could be absorbed into Syria’s army, while U.S. forces weigh next steps for ISIS detainee operations and their remaining footprint.
Syria has experienced another dramatic transformation. After a month of clashes that began in Aleppo and spread to eastern Syria, Damascus announced on January 30 that it had reached an agreement with...
“Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin, beware of believing claims that we seek harm against you,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a televised address on January 16 to Syria’s...
The ongoing conflict between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) risks unleashing tens of thousands of ISIS-linked detainees, reviving a threat that the United States and the SDF...
In the wake of intense fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi ordered the withdrawal of his personnel from contested areas...
Kurdish opposition groups in northwestern Iran have actively supported protests against the Iranian regime during the first two weeks of January. They have issued statements backing...
If the agreement collapses, violence may be imminent. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have spent months negotiating with the government in Damascus how to implement their March agreement...
Syrian Kurdish military leader Mazloum Abdi’s recent meeting with top Kurdish officials of northern Iraq points to the region’s shifting political landscape. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander...
On November 19, the government-controlled Syrian army and the predominantly Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled in the area of Maadan, east of Raqqa. According to Syrian...