A new Reuters story, published by Ha’aretz in Israel, says the CIA does not spy on the United Arab Emirates, a key Middle Eastern ally that is pulling out of the U.S.-backed war in Yemen. If true, its a blind spot at a time when the region is on the brink of war and U.S....
Category: Middle East
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Putin’s Mercenaries Use Syria as a Training Ground and Revenue Stream
The consistently excellent Lobelog describes how Vladimir Putin is using the the Russian private military company, Wagner, for deniable and lucrative military operations in the Middle East and Africa. The story, by Nicolai Due-Gundersen does not mention the CEO of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, but does demonstrate that Wagner is a tool of Putin’s statecraft. Prigozhin...
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Iraq Curbs U.S. Flights After Reported Israeli Attacks
While Trump condones Israeli attacks on Iranian targets in Iraq, the Iraqi government is pushing back with new restrictions on the U.S. military. In the past months, facilities controlled by Iranian-backed militias known as Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) have been bombed. U.S. and Israeli news sites have reported Israel is behind the attacks. According to...
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Zarif Says He’ll Try to Delay Execution of Convicted Mossad Spy
Djalali, the alleged spy and medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute in the Swedish capital, was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage, having been accused of providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists. Source: Zarif says he’ll try to delay death sentence of...
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Iran Isn’t Another Iraq. Its a Different Kind of War
President Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran has generated Tehran’s policy of “tit for tat,” and the results worry the world. Drones downed. Tankers seized. Insults exchanged. Yet both countries say—and act—like they don’t want a shooting war. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini said in May, “We don’t seek a war and neither do...