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.
'Settlement schmettlement': Turkish purges target Kurds
Government crackdown targets include Kurds, military officers, educators and intellectuals, as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen.
Kerry: Going after al-Qaeda in Syria 'not a concession to anybody'
US Secretary of State John Kerry warns armed groups that "it’s wise to separate" from Jabhat al-Nusra.
Turkey expands assault on independent media
The Erdogan government’s crackdown on "enemy within" includes free press; Iran and Russia may gain from strains in US-Turkey ties; Aleppo key to "undivided Syria"; Iran likely to deepen ties with Russia over Syria.
Biden’s diplomatic triage in Turkey
Ankara reconsiders its Syria policy amid strains in US-Turkey ties and a reset in Iran-Turkey diplomacy.
Iraqi militias aspire to be like Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units consider themselves as an "alternative" state institution, like the IRGC; Russia-Turkey "reset" stumbles on Syria; United States and Russia need to conclude agreement on Syria.
Saudi Arabia may keep playing 'Iran card' to defer decision on Yemen
Yemen victim of Saudi-Iran hostility; Islamic State tries, and fails, to recruit Kurds; Al-Monitor resumes series on lobbying by Middle East governments.
Obama: no safe haven for al-Qaeda in Syria
The United States to continue "intense fire efforts" against terrorist group as US-Russia talks appear stalled; Is Muqtada al-Sadr losing the Iraqi street? Nouri al-Maliki plots his return.
Al-Qaeda affiliate’s desperate 'switch' validates US Syria policy
Fear of US and Russian airstrikes on eve of Syrian offensive a sign that Jabhat al-Nusra may be feeling the heat; Turkey’s de-Gulenification campaign in context; retired Saudi general probes Israeli commitment to peace settlement.
Erdogan's crackdown on enemies just getting started after failed coup
Is the Turkish military "infested" with Gulenists? Iran expects shift in Turkey’s Syria policies after standing by Erdogan; Turkish documents detail Islamic State operations.
Kerry: Critics of Obama administration's Syria policy 'completely screwed up'
US secretary of state says the terrorist attack in Nice “could just as well have come from [Jabhat al-] Nusra”; Erdogan refers to coup attempt as a "gift from God" to "cleanse" army.
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.
