Newsletter: Turkey Turkey's Mecca Pact strategy By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Tunisia’s water, power crisis fuels growing protests against Saied: What to know A utility crisis is giving momentum to opposition forces challenging Saied’s grip on power. Tunisia
Iraq’s Zaidi doubles down on militia disarmament, boosting oil exports Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi made the comments amid Hormuz-related export struggles and a nearing deadline for armed groups to disarm. Iraq
Analysis Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran threatens ‘devastating’ response as US ramps up sanctions By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Iran’s president denies making concessions in nuclear talks As the world waits to hear the results of the nuclear talks, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has denied that his country made any major concessions. Iran
Palestinians working in Israel strike to protest salary payments in banks Palestinian construction workers are suspicious about a new mechanism agreed upon by Israeli and Palestinian Authority administrations, for salaries to be paid directly into Palestinian bank accounts and not in cash. Israel
Shin Bet chief talks security in Egypt Egypt was hoping that after mediating between Israel and Islamic Jihad, the Israel Defense Forces would tone down its operations in the West Bank — but this did not happen. Israel
Egypt army makes gains against Islamic State in western Sinai Egyptian Army troops and tribal fighters are working to liberate the northwestern Sinai village of Gilbana from IS control as the terrorist group tries to move its command center there. Egypt
Tunisian police unions clash with president's plan to unify security forces Human rights organizations in Tunisia are increasingly concerned about the police unions’ encroachment on politics. North Africa
Oil smuggling in Syria worsens pollution in Euphrates River The residents living near the Euphrates River in northeast Syria are suffering the consequences of water pollution mainly caused by oil spills resulting from smuggling operations between the areas held by the Kurdish forces and the Syrian government. Syria
Syrian jihadist group in Idlib purges hard-liners A prominent Egyptian resigned from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Shura Council as the group sidelines hard-line members. Syria
Islamic Jihad denies rift with Hamas Hamas' lack of participation in the last round of fighting has further cracked the shaky relationship between it and Islamic Jihad, although the two movements deny being on bad terms. Palestine
Deadly church fire prompts wide-scale safety inspections in Egypt After a blaze in a Giza church killed dozens, the Egyptian government says it will systematically review the safety conditions of churches across the country. Egypt
Analysis Turkey’s economic crisis coincides with new diplomatic initiatives Finding solutions: Turkey and the UN are pursuing diplomacy to end Ukraine war while Ankara is considering rapprochement with Syria and mending ties with Israel. By Week in Review
Will Iraq's Sunnis, Kurds support early elections? Iraq’s Sunni and Kurdish forces are closely watching developments between the Sadrist movement and the Coordination Framework, so as to take a political position on whether to dissolve parliament and hold early elections. Iraq
Iran nuclear deal: The devil remains in the details The White House denies any concessions beyond the 2015 deal. Iran