Iran follows Russia’s lead in backing Syria safe zones - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Week in Review

Week in Review

May 27, 2017

People celebrate carrying Russian and Syrian national flags inside Waer district, after rebel fighters and their families evacuated the besieged Waer district in the central Syrian city of Homs, after an agreement was reached between rebels and Syria's army, Syria, May 21, 2017. — REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Iran, Russia move closer over Syria safe zones proposal

Hamidreza Azizi explains that the Russian proposal for de-escalation or safe zones in Syria “is not only the best approach for Moscow and Tehran to preserve their core interests in the country, but it could also act as a factor that brings the two countries even closer together.”

SINJAR, IRAQ - NOVEMBER 16: A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier searches for weapons in the rubble of an airstrike near a mosque on November 16, 2015 in Sinjar, Iraq. Kurdish forces, with the aid of months of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, liberated the town from ISIL extremists, known in Arabic as Daesh, in recent days. Although the battle was deemed a major victory, much of the city lay in complete ruins. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Iraq's Sinjar heats up again as PMU closes in

Amberin Zaman

Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A group of Arab soldiers who have joined Kurdish peshmerga forces take part their graduation ceremony at a training camp in Duhok province, Iraq, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX2ZZVX

Disputes over Iraq's Yazidi areas lead to fears of PMU-peshmerga clash

Ibrahim Malazada

Ibrahim Malazada

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) speaks along side retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mike Flynn during a campaign town hall meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX2OE6J

Would Trump back Turkish military escalation in Iraq, Syria?

Week in Review

Week in Review

A man from the minority Yazidi sect stands guard at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, December 20, 2014. Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by Islamic State fighters. REUTERS/Ari Jalal (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4IV2I

Yazidi infighting, disputes over Sinjar stall battle against Islamic State

Saad Salloum

Saad Salloum