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.
Netanyahu weighs more aggressive action as Hamas leader backs 'intifada'
The Israeli prime minister is under pressure from the Israeli right as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates; Syrian Kurdish leaders back Russian intervention to battle the Islamic State.
Obama prepared to work with Putin to broker Syria transition
Despite widespread condemnation of Russian airstrikes in Syria, signs of progress on UN-brokered talks on a political transition; Iran’s ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt; the trend toward counterterrorism; United States should not treat Iraq as a "weak partner."
Will US, Russia find common ground in Syria?
A common enemy, the Islamic State, should be the first step in an expanded international coalition; does Iraqi Kurdistan face the prospect of "administrative breakup"?
Pressure shifts to Iran to implement nuclear deal
No sanctions to be lifted until Iran puts in place unprecedented nuclear safeguards; White House spokesman calls out critics of Syria policy; Aleppo region a "living hell"; siege of Madaya continues.
Russia not backing down on Assad
Moscow considers the Syrian government as the best bet to defeat the Islamic State; US leaders rally to support Pope Francis’ call to offer “concrete hope” to refugees; Netanyahu’s words don’t match deeds on refugees.
The new pulse of Gulf security
The Iran nuclear deal and the summit between US President Barack Obama and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud could signal a turning point in Gulf security.
Protesters in Iraq and Lebanon demand accountability
Demonstrations in Iraq and Lebanon may signal new round of "Arab Springs"; Will Saudi capture of Khobar towers mastermind affect US policy toward Iran?
Security Council: Syria 'largest humanitarian crisis in the world'
UN, Russia and Iran coordinate new diplomatic effort on Syria; what did Zarif tell Nasrallah?; Egyptian government rejects mediation with Muslim Brotherhood; did US-trained force coordinate with Jabhat al-Nusra?
Zarif presses diplomacy on Syria
Iran brokers humanitarian cease-fires in Syria; Yair Lapid discusses “dreadful gamble” in US-Israel relations; Turkey’s Stone Age temple may predate Stonehenge and Egyptian pyramids by thousands of years.
US wins support from GCC, Asian allies for Iran nuclear deal
Israel is outlier on nuclear deal; Rafsanjani tells Al-Monitor that Iran “does not inherently have any issues with Saudi Arabia”; Zarif proposes civil nuclear cooperation with Arab states; Syrian, Iranian and Russian officials meet in Tehran; Al-Monitor’s second annual Middle East lobbying investigation and cultural heritage series.
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.
