Week in Review - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on AL-MONITOR’s world class reporting.

Analysis

Iran-linked militias seek to draw Iraq into regional war

By Week in Review

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

Crisis in Ukraine: the Middle East connections

Also: Oman's foreign minister says dialogue is essential in dealing with Iran, Yemen and Syria; keeps focus on two-state solution.

Islamic State escalates violence across Baghdad Belt

Terrorist attacks increase as Iraq continues government formation process.

Mourners carry the casket of one of eleven Iraqi soldiers, killed in an overnight attack by the Islamic State (IS) group against a base in eastern Iraq, through a street in the central holy shrine city of Najaf, on Jan. 21, 2022.

Hints of progress on Iran nuclear talks, but time running out

The ongoing JCPOA talks in Vienna are still complicated, and the timeline is down to a ‘few weeks,’ says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Iran’s days of rage on Soleimani anniversary have their limits

Can Israel live with an Iranian nuclear deal? Maybe so.

Middle East elections had consequences in 2021

Elections in Israel, Iran and Iraq shook up status quo; Syria’s presidential contest a blow to the UN process; Libya and Palestine took a pass on elections, with consequences as well.

An Orthodox Jewish man casts his vote as Israelis head to the polls on March 23, 2021 in Bnei Brak, Israel.

Gaza at Christmas: a bleak outlook

A Christmas tree brings some joy; Gaza’s Jewish quarter and a new wall; "We want to live" protests Hamas policies; Hamas, PIJ killings continue; Racism persists against Black Gazans.

Erdogan shakes up foreign policy in response to economic crisis

Turkey's Central Bank rate cut hasn’t stopped the lira’s free fall, as Turkey announces an initiative for rapprochement with Armenia.

Israel pleased with US pivot to pressure in Iran nuclear talks

Pessimism and pressure are the buzz in Vienna, but the Iran nuclear talks still have a pulse.

Israel weighs options, timing of possible military strike on Iran

Despite deadlock in Vienna, expert/technical talks may have a faint pulse.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani.

Islamic State down but not out in Syria and Iraq: Pentagon report

Also, Al-Monitor’s on-the-ground reporting on the security situations in Syria and Iraq, including the impact of the Turkish lira crisis on Idlib.

US soldiers patrol an area near Syria's northeastern Semalka border crossing with Iraq's Kurdish autonomous territory, on Nov. 1, 2021.

Zaidi’s test in Tehran

Less than 24 hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi returned from Tehran on Thursday, Iraqi Kurdistan again came under attack.

Five explosive drones were intercepted over Erbil by US-led coalition air defenses, triggering explosions and smoke near the airport that hosts coalition forces and sits adjacent to the US consulate. While Iraq’s Kurdistan region is no stranger to attacks by Iran and its proxies, the timing was hard to ignore. For Tehran, despite the arrival of a new Iraqi prime minister promising a different path, it appears to be business as usual.