Middle East crises loom in background as NATO leaders gather in Washington While this year's summit is expected to focus largely on the ongoing war in Ukraine, Iran's military support for Russia and Turkey's strategic balancing act with Moscow are expected to weigh on NATO leaders gathered in Washington. Washington Pulse
US, Israel hold second virtual meeting on Rafah Biden administration officials have denied offering to green-light an Israeli invasion of Rafah if Israel holds off on retaliating against Iran. Washington Pulse
One year on Sudan’s war: 14,700 killed, 8.6M displaced, 4.9M face starvation As the war in Sudan enters its second year, the humanitarian situation is worsening by the day with no prospects of an imminent end of the hostilities. North Africa Pulse
State Department staffer resigns over Biden's handling of Gaza Annelle Sheline is the second State Department official to publicly resign since Oct. 7, citing the erosion of US credibility on human rights in the Middle East as a result of the war. Washington Pulse
What Does the Brotherhood Want? As the majority of Egyptians suffer through the slumping economy, the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood continues demonstrating for the reinstatement of deposed president Mohammed Morsi. Egypt
Assad Warns Erdogan On Turkey’s Syria Policy Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s latest interview reveals again the deep personal enmity between him and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Syria
Maliki Says Terrorism in Iraq 'Directly Related' to Syria In an exclusive written interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, “The increasing growth of extremist groups” is the deeper problem in Syria and warned “against the narrow, revenge-based view that controls some of the region's countries." Iraq
Syrian Islamist Forces Gain in Aleppo Divisions among Syrian opposition groups may be hindering Geneva II. Israel
Syrian Sufis Divided As Salafist Influence Grows Sufism has long been the dominant strand of Sunni Islam in Syria, but is under threat as Salafism gains power. Syria
Turkey's 'Massive' Rights Crimes At Gezi Protests Cited by Amnesty In a detailed study on Turkey's recent urban unrest, the international human rights body Amnesty International reports widespread abuse by authorities. Turkey
Netanyahu Supports A 'Syrian Model' for Iran Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would gladly embrace employing a military threat to convince Tehran to halt its nuclear program. Israel
US-Iran Deal Would Bring Good News to Lebanon A thaw in US-Iran relations would, over time, have a positive effect on regional conflicts. Lebanon
The Saudi Duality on Women An unknown Saudi cleric goes viral following his comments on why women can’t drive. Saudi Arabia
Iran and Turkey Have DifferencesOn Syria, But Not a Crisis Iran's ambassador in Ankara, Alireza Bikdeli, says if the Iranian and Turkish differences on Syria were between two other countries, it would have led to serious problems. Turkey
UN Resolution Opens New Chapter in Syria Conflict A UN Security Council resolution has recast the Syria conflict as a matter for international diplomacy, not US unilateral action. Syria
Yemen divided over Syria conflict A diversity of views among Yemen's citizens has led to Yemeni factions taking opposing stances regarding the conflict in Syria. Yemen
