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

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Interview

Iraq's Sudani: US troop withdrawal does not mean end of security relationship

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani

Prime Minister of Iraq

Turkish military wary of Erdogan plan for Syrian buffer zone

The United States remains opposed to a no-fly zone in northern Syria; Masrour Barzani calls for "amicable divorce" for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; Jacky Hugi writes that Israel should back the Syrian government "at any price."

Did Khamenei blur his own red lines on sanctions?

Supreme Leader Khamenei gives strong backing for Iran’s negotiating team heading into Vienna talks; Assad holds off on hitting Islamic State, for now; Israel forced to clarify position on Jabhat al-Nusra; Egypt seeks to counter Turkey’s role in Syria.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 27, 2015. Senior U.S. and Iranian officials said much hard work still needs to be done to bridge significant differences on an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I13O

Erdogan sees threat from Kurdish gains in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives priority to battle Kurdish “terror organizations” over the Islamic State; the Islamic State's scorched-earth practices in Kobani; the Druze lobby in Israel.

Will AKP's losses spark Turkish re-think on Syria?

The ruling Justice and Development Party lost Kurdish support over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policies; Eastern patriarchs meet in Damascus to reassure Middle East Christian communities.

Supporters wave Turkish national and party flags as they shout slogans outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, June 7, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of assuming greater powers suffered a serious blow on Sunday when the ruling AK Party failed to win an outright majority in a parliamentary election, partial results showed. With 94 percent of ballots counted, the AKP had taken 41 percent of the vote, according to broadcaster CNN Turk, a result which will leave it struggling to for

Will voters reject Turkey’s ‘precious loneliness’?

Parliamentary elections on June 7 could signal a shift in Turkey’s foreign policy; Islamic State’s radicalization campaign extends to Iraqi Kurdistan; Iran not backing down in Syria; Soleimani promises "surprise" in battle against Islamic State.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), speaks as his supporters wave Kurdish (L) and Turkish national (R) flags in the background, during an election rally for Turkey's June 7 parliamentary election, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 6, 2015. Turkey's Kurdish-rooted opposition party, which could scupper Tayyip Erdogan's ambitions for sweeping new powers, accused the President on Saturday of a lack of respect for supporters killed in a bomb attack in an election rally an

Baghdad stumbles in response to Ramadi refugees

180,000 Iraqis now displaced by the Islamic State from Ramadi; Islamic State benefits from Saudi military intervention in Yemen; Jabhat al-Nusra’s attempted makeover.

Displaced Sunni women fleeing the violence in Ramadi, carry bags as they walk on the outskirts of Baghdad, May 24, 2015. Iraqi forces recaptured territory from advancing Islamic State militants near the recently-fallen city of Ramadi on Sunday, while in Syria the government said the Islamists had killed hundreds of people since capturing the town of Palmyra. REUTERS/Stringer - RTX1ED8I

Is Islamic State 'secondary priority' for Saudi Arabia?

Riyadh is preoccupied with the military campaign in Yemen; Velayati tells Lebanese officials there will be no deal on Assad; the Turkish opposition party is under attack ahead of June 7 elections.

People stand by part of a Saudi fighter jet found in Bani Harith district north of Yemen's capital Sanaa May 24, 2015. Local media said that the Houthi rebels brought down a Saudi F-16 fighter jet north of Sanaa early on Sunday. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX1EAP8

Obama, GCC leaders forge consensus on Iran

Summit statement concludes that a “comprehensive, verifiable” nuclear deal “is in the security interests” of all parties; Kerry emphasizes need for US-Russia cooperation on Syria.

U.S. President Barack Obama looks back toward Oman Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said (L) and the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2nd L) while hosting the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1D0ZQ

Carter: Syria 'safe zones' would be 'major combat mission'

US secretary of defense tells Congress no-fly zone would be "difficult thing to contemplate"; state institutions collapse as result of war in Yemen; Obama administration rejects direct arms to Iraqi Kurdistan.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin Dempsey (not pictured) speak to reporters at the Pentagon in Washington April 16, 2015. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan - RTR4XNHW

Saudi shake-up underscores stakes in Yemen

Saudi credibility on the line in Yemen; al-Qaeda’s “free rein” in Yemen; Iraq seeks balance, distance from Saudi-Iranian rivalry; Iran’s Reformists still waiting for Rouhani to deliver; Syrian government intensifies attacks on rebel-held areas of Aleppo.