After Jordan, Emirates also furious with Netanyahu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only managed to get into a diplomatic row with Jordan, he also succeeded in angering the Emiratis. Israel
Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord. Iran
Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party deputy known to focus on human rights abuses, was stripped of his parliament seat and a lawsuit was filed to close the party March 17. Turkey
Netanyahu courts Arab voters as 'Abu Yair' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted a new strategy for the Arab public: cynically rebranding himself as "Abu Yair." Israel
Will Anbar Elections Go Ahead? Questions have been raised in Baghdad over the decision to postpone Anbar's provincial elections, and the decision may be reversed, writes Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Iraq
Erdogan's Good Fortune And Israel's Apology Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been Turkey's prime minister for over 10 years, and during that time he has had an incredible number of political victories; so many in fact that Cengiz Çandar writes that nobody is as lucky as Erdogan. Israel
What Lebanon's Mikati Lacked To Succeed as Prime Minister Hadi Fathallah examines Najib Mikati's resignation as Lebanon's prime minister, where he failed in the job, and what he needs to succeed should he return. Lebanon
The European Dilemmas On Arming Syrian Rebels An initiative to lift the European Union’s arms embargo to Syria and increase support to rebels has been met with strong EU opposition; the EU is unlikely to move further on that issue. Syria
Obama Misses TargetWith Nowruz Message Sasan Aghlani writes that the message delivered in US President Barack Obama's annual Nowruz speech indicates that he fails to understand his target audiences and the effects of sanctions on Iran. Iran
Will Jordan Allow Syria's Palestinian Refugees to Resettle? As the 2-year-old civil war in Syria drags on and refugees continue to stream from Syria into Jordan, Adnan Abu Amer asks whether Jordan will consider resettling Syria’s Palestinian refugees. Palestine
Could Violence in Egypt Spin Out of Control? Bassem Sabry writes that he's never been more worried about Egypt since its revolution than he is right now. Egypt
New Book Argues Talk, Not Bombs, Best Way to Delay a Nuclear Iran In their new book, authors Geoffrey Kemp and John Allen Gay warn that attacking Iran might actually speed up the Iranian nuclear program and cause a "multigenerational catastrophe" if the object is regime change. Iran
Sinai Tourism Hits Rock Bottom, Business Owners Blame Morsi Writing from South Sinai, Mohannad Sabry meets with local business owners in the tourism sector who tell him that they keep hoping for political stability to bring back tourists — but that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's inability to govern has been making a bad situation worse. Egypt
Hamas Reacts to Israeli Apology To Turkey Israel's apology to Turkey is welcomed by Palestinians including Hamas and raises expectations for a lifting of the blockade on Gaza, writes Hazem Balousha. Palestine
Does Turkey Have a Roadmap For Peace With the PKK? Orhan Kemal Cengiz is not sure that the Turkish government has a comprehensive peace plan, and says that if they do the PKK is certainly unaware of it. Turkey
Israeli Apology May Restore Turkey's Regional Influence Israel's recent apology to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara raid offers Turkey a chance to regain its lost political influence in the region, writes Semih Idiz. Turkey
