... again drawn the attention of the international community not only to the loss of thousands of lives and colossal destruction but also to the extent to which these natural... ... (Deraa-Suweida-Quneitra triangle). Syria remains an arena for score-settling between Israel and Iran, Turkey and the Kurdish militias, as well as the geopolitical rivalry between Russia... ... Khlebnikov, Igor Matveev:
Does Syria’s Road Back to the Arab Family Go Through the UAE?
UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, in his briefings...
... feel they are encircled by Sunni states that are supported by a strong U.S. military presence in the region [
2
]. From the UAE’s perspective, Iran’s export of revolutionary Shi’ism to countries such as Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen has been accompanied by the establishment of a nuclear weapons program, and a territorial dispute over the Gulf islands Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb. Iran’s ability to endanger critical sea choke points such as the Strait of Hormuz and the ...
... aggravate in the country, mainly in Tripoli, unless an agreement is reached among militant groups in addition to Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, the USA and Russia. The impeachment process of US President Donald Trump and the US role in the MENA region would determine the future ... ... in many countries starting from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and the future government in Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria, Turkey and Iran. It is also expected that many MENA capitals will witness protests that would change the balance of power in the region. ...
... has been riveted on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. On May 12, four tankers owned by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attacked by unknown forces when entering the Strait off the coast of Fujairah. On June 13, this time near the Iranian coast, two more tankers flying the flags of the Marshall Islands and Panama were attacked. The incidents occurred against the backdrop of another exacerbation in U.S.–Iran relations and the United States imposing more sanctions on Tehran.
Nobody ...
... destabilising the situation in the Middle East. Senegal and Chad also recalled their ambassadors from Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain suspended flights to Qatar and shut their land borders with the country. To a large extent, Qatar’s current ... ... with the Saudis.
Qatar’s ties with Tehran, on the other hand, may prove unacceptable to the Saudis. Despite Hamas’s and Iran’s differences over Syria, Tehran continued to
support the military
wing of the group, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades,...
... many of the parts in which they are operating). It’s not like all of Catholic Europe will be sending holy warriors in a crusade to fight Orthodox Russia’s attempts to annex the ethnic Russian, Orthodox Christian sections of Ukraine.
Which brings ... ... that is a small minority in Syria) Bashar al-Assad and is controlled mainly by Alawate Shiites. It is backed by Shiite Persian Iranians and the Arab Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Sunni Muslims, in general, do not like Shiites, and that is an understatement; ...
... intervention. Qaddafi, alone and isolated and ruling over a far smaller population, was a relatively easy target. Compared to Qaddafi’s regime, Assad’s military was much stronger and, unlike Qaddafi’s, had strong patrons in Russia and Iran who would complicate and increase the costs of any Western intervention and made the prospects of any success for the Syrian people on their own quite dim.
Some powers talked of intervening in Syria, but with the U.S. signaling no appetite for direct ...
... colonizers, will eventually necessitate a change in American policy as Israel refuses to change its policies and boxes itself into being an apartheid-like political pariah within the Western world.
4.) There’s a good chance for a thaw/deal with Iran in the near future.
More than any president since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Obama has shown an energy and a willingness to move past long-failed non-engagement, as has Iran’s President Rouhani. Normalization is a very real possibility....
