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.
Erdogan's Syria policies spark riots in Kurdish cities
Turkey’s Syria policies spark massive protests in Kurdish cities, with at least 30 protesters killed; no relief for Syrians in Homs and Aleppo; Jabhat al-Nusra attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Erdogan's slow turnaround on foreign fighters in Syria
US Vice President Joe Biden says "our biggest problem is our allies" in combating foreign fighters; Aleppo battle lines so far unaffected by airstrikes; Israel considers threat from Islamic State.
US leverages Iran-Iraq-Syria axis against Islamic State
New alignment offers the potential for breakthrough in the battle against extremist groups; the Arab world has a pulse, not an illness.
Do Syrians support US airstrikes in Syria?
Syrians worry about US airstrikes; Iran could be bridge to Syria in international coalition against the Islamic State (IS); Syrian Revolutionary Forces reject report of pact with IS; Syrian Kurds lose ground to IS; Iran claims leadership in battle against IS terrorists.
Turkey abstains on US coalition against Islamic State
Turkey’s caveat on the Islamic State; Russia’s Syria cards; Iran on outside of US coalition; the US turnaround on the Syrian opposition; Al-Monitor’s first long-form piece.
Islamic State becoming ‘dominant voice’ among global jihadists
The United States intensifies military planning against the Islamic State; Syria’s new Cabinet; Israel faces "highly complex reality" in Syria; IS-linked group threatens more terror, beheadings in the Sinai Peninsula; what Egypt lost in the Al Jazeera trial.
US gives new priority to foreign fighters in Syria
US regional allies, including Turkey, may finally be forced to crack down on extremists in Syria.
Aleppo's Christians in Syrian crossfire
Christians in Aleppo fear an uncertain fate; Iran’s decisive role in the appointment of Haider al-Abadi as Iraqi prime minister-designate; battle for Arsal may not be over yet; Netanyahu is Israel’s "weakest prime minister" ever; lobbying profiles of Gulf countries to be released.
Is Lebanon next target of Islamic State?
Lebanon battles extremist armed groups; Egypt’s political isolation in Gaza; Iran’s shift on Hamas; family of Al-Monitor columnist killed by Israeli airstrike; lobbying series continues.
Does Iran benefit from Gaza crisis?
Iran reconsiders Hamas ties; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fixation on Iran may have distracted him from the threat from Hamas; Asmaa Al-Ghoul reports from Gaza; the Islamic State offers no support for Hamas.
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.
