Newsletter: Daily Briefing Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign defense pact Houthi attacks kill 58 Yemeni government troops; Syria says bomb near Damascus wounds 14; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Israel strikes south Lebanon after 2 soldiers killed Tehran says Iran, Oman agree on Hormuz shipping route; US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
AIPAC to oppose El-Sayed after major Michigan primary victory The America Israel Public Affairs Committee said it will work to oppose Abdul El-Sayed’s “radical anti-Israel agenda” as his opponent seeks to paint him as extreme. United States
Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday The Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut. Lebanon
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Trump says Hormuz to reopen after ‘very good’ Iran talks By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Jerusalem recognition serves mainly Trump, Netanyahu The Trump administration claims that recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is just the beginning of a larger strategy for peace, but the US president's complex diplomatic plan may be more of a mirage. Palestine
Why is Iranian rial suddenly weakening? Inflation and other factors have caused the Iranian rial to weaken to the point where it now takes more than 40,000 rials to buy a dollar on the free market in Iran. United States
Iran hard-liners welcome Trump decision on Jerusalem Some Iranian media outlets believe that Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will make forming resistance groups easier. Palestine
Washington’s attempt to impose Mideast peace will backfire US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and other recent measures suggest that he thinks he can bludgeon Palestinians into accepting an unjust peace deal. Palestine
Pentagon acknowledges higher number of US troops in Syria The United States now officially has 2,000 troops in Syria, up from 500 previously, despite the Islamic State’s collapse. Syria
Netanyahu left without any cards to play Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated several times the principle of reciprocity in talks with Palestinians, yet he himself is willing to offer them nothing. Palestine
Russia’s multilayered Syrian diplomacy worries Iran Mistrust and differing objectives continue to mar Iran-Russia relations, even as the two countries move forward on Syria. Saudi Arabia
Pro-Erdogan groups call for Brett McGurk's arrest A no-name group claiming to work against the US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen has called for the arrest of US diplomat Brett McGurk, the most recent American to be targeted by supporters of the Turkish president. Turkey
Palestinians cancel Capitol Hill Christmas over Trump remarks The Palestinian mission in Washington abandoned attempts to court the White House and Congress with the mission's first-ever Christmas party on Capitol Hill after it was announced that President Donald Trump would make a major statement on the status of Jerusalem on Wednesday. Palestine
Erdogan draws red line over US Embassy's move to Jerusalem Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening to sever ties with Israel if the United States moves its embassy to Jerusalem, positioning himself as a global defender of Islam at the risk of further tension with the West. Israel
Can Saudis tempt Moscow into pushing Iran from Syria? Saudi Arabia has given up on ousting President Bashar al-Assad and is now hoping to convince Russia to deny Iran a presence in Syria. Saudi Arabia
Russia investigation casts shadow over Kushner's Mideast peace push In a rare public appearance, the president's senior adviser Jared Kushner discussed the Trump administration's "ultimate deal" for Palestinian and Israeli peace. Saudi Arabia