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.
Assad’s departure still non-starter for Putin
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s comment on "orderly" transition could offer a face-saving spark for Syria political talks; Hezbollah’s No. 2 disavows "ambitions" in Syria; did Iran benefit from US missile strike? Sistani seeks restraints on Iraqi armed groups looking to fight in Syria.
After US missile strikes, can Tillerson find common ground with Russia in Syria?
US strategy to defeat Islamic State in play as secretary of state heads to Moscow and UN secretary-general calls for restraint.
Did the US, Turkey reach understanding on Assad?
Turkey declares an end to Syrian military intervention; alarm over possible US military support to Gulf coalition in Yemen war.
Idlib — more than Raqqa — may be decisive Syria fault line
Russian-Turkish agreement under strain in key northern city.
Israel weighs response to Hezbollah rocket threat
For now, deterrence holds on Israel’s northern border; Iran ready to "fight to the last man" in Syria; Why does Erdogan go easy on Putin over Syrian Kurds?
Putin gets some payback with 'alternative project' for Libya
Why Putin backs Hifter; Barzani’s Sinjar dilemma; Israel’s missing Gaza policy; GCC moves to the margins on Syria.
Could Turkey’s misstep in Manbij provide template for Raqqa?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest threat complicates Pentagon planning to oust the Islamic State from its so-called capital; United States provides intelligence for Iraqi strike in Syria.
Iran pulls Palestine from the margins
The Iranian leadership turns out in force for Palestinian conference; Turkey’s victory in al-Bab may be a prelude to a showdown with the Syrian Kurds.
Erdogan banks on motley crew of Syrian armed groups
Turkey’s Syria partners seen as "ill-disciplined, untrained and inexperienced"; Erodgan links opposition to referendum to coup plotters; Mattis rules out US-Russia military cooperation "for now."
Turkey walks fine line in dealing with 'frenemy' jihadis
Turkey’s mixed messages in crackdown terrorist groups; Ankara on sidelines, again, in Syria; Syrian Kurds consider federalism, view Turkish attack on al-Bab as "fiasco."
Iran-linked militias seek to draw Iraq into regional war
“Iran’s logic is the logic of war,” a Gulf regional official tells Al-Monitor.
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.
US banking on Iraqi turnaround with nomination of Zaidi as new PM
Trump signals hope for a "tremendous new chapter” in US-Iraq ties with the nomination of Ali Al-Zaidi as prime minister.
Iraq's Sudani: US troop withdrawal does not mean end of security relationship
At an event hosted by Al-Monitor and the US Chamber of Commerce, the prime minister discussed Iraq’s plan to achieve energy independence by 2030 and his desire to drawdown the US military presence in the country.
